Oritsejafor Has Turned CAN Into A "Sorry Appendage" Of The Federal Government – Senator George Akume


Former Benue State Governor, Senator Goerge Akume, has acused the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, of working to destroy the “little credibility that is left of this once glorious organisation CAN.”

Akume, who in a statement said he was expressing his “utmost dismay and anger,” over how Oritsejafor is affecting the fortunes of the association, noted that concerning the alleged arms deal, a “clearly criminal, immoral and unethical act is being white washed with religious grandstanding.”

He pleaded with the people from the Northern part of Nigeria not to see CAN in the light of recent events.

“My appeal to our brothers in the North is that, what they see in CAN today has nothing to do with Christianity but everything to do with crass materialism and self-seeking opportunism,” he said.

The lawmaker who said he “must speak out against the brazen attempts to hijack our religion and use it for purposes that are clearly against the tenets of the teachings of Jesus Christ,” noted that even where Oritsejafor has “desperately tried to absolve himself of the crime committed by those who were transferring money illegally…his arguments are unsustainable because he has vicarious liability at several levels.”

He recalled that “On September 5, a jet owned by Oritsejafor was caught in South Africa stashed with $9.3 million undeclared cash purportedly meant for the purchase of arms through black market. The circumstances surrounding the incident suggest that those ferrying the money did it in open breach of Nigerian and international laws. South Africa has already established a prima facie case of criminality involved in the questionable misadventure.

“Oritsejafor has openly confessed that he owns the jet involved in this crime. He, however, claimed that the jet was leased out to Eagle Air, which again leased it out to Green Coast Produce Limited. His arguments are unsustainable because he has vicarious liability at several levels. One, the vessel used for criminal activity belongs to him.

“He commercially leased the vessel to Eagle Air, which is a company he holds an interest in and which in turn further leased same to the company that converted it to commercial use with his full knowledge and approval. The chain of ethical liability is unbroken. How will the pastor explain his involvement with people engaged in the murky waters of international arms trafficking?”

He also flawed Oritsejafor’s claim that his congregation donated the jet to him on the 40th anniversary of his ministry sometime in 2012 for the purpose of attending to his flock and doing God’s work, arguing that “the plane, a Bombardier Challenger 600, was registered as a privately owned jet supposedly for pastoral use. However, the three passengers arrested in South Africa with the aircraft were definitely not on pastoral visit to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

He scored the current leadership of CAN low in the aspects of the core objectives of the body which is to act as ‘watchperson of the spiritual and moral welfare of the nation and promote understanding, peace and unity among the various people of Nigeria.

“From the pioneer president of CAN, Dominic Cardinal Ekandem (of blessed memory), through; his several revered successors like Anthony Cardinal Okogie, Dr. Sunday Mbang, Most Rev. Peter Akinola and the immediate past President of CAN and Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan; CAN witnessed its glorious years.

“The organisation promoted religious harmony through inter-faith dialogue. Cardinal Onaiyekan and the Sultan of Sokoto were even considered for the Nobel Peace Prize award. CAN in those years regularly advised government on diverse issues affecting ordinary citizens and remained a strident voice for the voiceless. Those the those days. Today, the story is different.

“Since the present CAN leadership came on board, CAN has become a sorry appendage of the Villa. It has become politically partisan, obscenely materialistic and the voice of the oppressor rather than the oppressed. The situation degenerated to a state that the single largest block of CAN, which is, the Catholic Church suspended itself from the national leadership of CAN until ‘sanity’ returns to the leadership.”


http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/akume-flays-oritsejafor-over-alleged-illegal-arms-deal/189701/

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