Contrary to media reports that the leadership of Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, was under pressure to congratulate President Muhammadu Buhari on his reelection, the association said it was not under any such pressure.
Reacting to reports that one of the leaders of the group had disclosed that they were under pressure to congratulate Buhari, CAN President, Rev. Samson Ayokunle, in a statement on Thursday by his media aide, Bayo Oladeji, dismissed the report, stressing that as a religious group, it remains apolitical and would congratulate and rejoice with whoever the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has declared winner of the fiercely contested poll.
“Our attention has been drawn to a story suggesting that we are under pressure to congratulate President Muhammadu Buhari on his reelection.
“There was no iota of truth in the story. There was no pressure whatsoever from any quarter on the leadership of the Association to congratulate Mr. President on his victory in the recently held Presidential poll.
“It is a normal thing for CAN to rejoice and to congratulate whoever wins the Presidential poll in the country because of its political neutrality. We have been doing this before. We did it in 2015 and we are wondering why it has to be different this year.”
