2023: CAN sheds light on meeting with Tinubu

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has given reason for the meeting with the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, ahead of the 2023 general elections.

The former Lagos State governor and some key members of APC, including the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, and governors elected on the party’s platform met with the CAN leadership on Wednesday in Abuja.

Tinubu, who addressed leaders of the Christian body at the meeting, insisted that his presidential aspiration has no religious undertone.

In a statement issued at the end of the meeting, the CAN President, Rev. Daniel Okoh, said the interactive session was meant to review their understanding of the Nigerian crisis of development and governance and collectively find a lasting solution to the issues.”

Okoh said CAN has consulted with Nigerians of diverse religious, ethnic, and social identities on the country’s problems, and the solutions to them have been articulated in a strategic document, the Charter for Future Nigeria.

He said: “The document makes genuine recommendations for resolving Nigeria’s recurrent crises that border on justice and fairness, equality of all ethnic and religious groups, equal access to basic economic and social rights, political freedom and an egalitarian and just social order.

READ ALSO: ‘My presidential bid has no religious undertone,’ Tinubu tells CAN

“The document considers the incoherence in political, social, and economic dimensions.

”This incoherence is the main reason the country today is almost submerged in the chaos of insecurity, instability, and economic stagnation.

“The well-being of every citizen of the country, irrespective of their religion, ethnicity or social pedigree, should be paramount in the agenda of politicians seeking public offices.”

Tinubu told the CAN leadership that his decision to vie for the presidency was a constitutional right, while allaying fears over the Muslim-Muslim ticket.

He said, “I seek to become Nigerian president not on religious grounds but on the Constitution. Thanks to the body for the invitation to candidates to speak of their plans for the nation.

“I believe in the need for a secular government and for us to work in the interest of the country just as I did in Lagos State by returning the missionary schools to the rightful owners.

“I never chased people out of Lagos. My choice of Shettima is borne out of the urgent need to address the challenges facing the country as Shettima possesses strong leadership abilities which he exhibited when he was the governor of Borno State. I wanted a progressive government that was why I selected Shettima.

“Choosing a Christian running mate would have been easy but that is not the case. We have urgent challenges that do not depend on religious leanings but on the best of hands that can address it.”

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