Christians Association of Nigeria (CAN) has rejected the newly amended Company and Allied Matters Law (CAMA), describing the law as “satanic, unacceptable and ungodly.”
President Muhammadu Buhari had on August 7 signed into law, the amended Companies and Allied Matters Bill, 2020. The bill which has been passed by the National Assembly replaced the 1990 CAMA.
CAN, in a statement signed and released by Pastor Adebayo Oladeji, Special Assistant, (Media & Communications) to the President, Rev. Samson Ayokunle, described as ‘satanic’, section 839 (1) and (2) of the law which;
Empowers the supervising minister to suspend trustees of an association (in this case, the church) and appoint the interim managers to manage the affairs of the association for some given reasons.
The Christian body explained that the CAMA law “would snuff life out of the church and rank the church as a secular institution under secular control.”
CAN argued that the government has no business controlling the affairs of a church when it does not contribute financially to the church.
The statement partly reads;
The leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) rejects out rightly the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020 that was assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari recently.
The law, to say the least is unacceptable, ungodly, reprehensible and an ill-wind that blows no one any good. It is a time bomb waiting to explode.
CAN added;
At a Public Hearing, the Bill that sought to bring the religious organizations and NGOs under the control and influence of the government was totally rejected because it would snuff life out of the church and rank the church as a secular institution under secular control.
The association stated that it is not against the fight against corruption but that it rejects the idea of bringing the church under the control of the government, adding;
The Church cannot be controlled by the government because of its spiritual responsibilities and obligations.
The Christian body called on the President to halt the implementation of the section of the law, saying;
This is why we are calling on the Federal government to stop the implementation of the obnoxious and ungodly law until the religious institutions are exempted from it. We call on President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently return the law to the National Assembly for immediate amendment.
They also called on the FG not to compare Nigeria with any other nation when it comes to the relationship between the religious institutions and the government.
It added;
Let the government face the business of providing infrastructure for the people. Let them focus on better health provision, food, education, adequate security employment, etc. The government should not be a busy body in a matter that does not belong to it.
The government does not have the technical expertise to run the church of God because of its spiritual nature.
It would be recalled that the Presiding Bishop of the Living Faith Church Worldwide, David Oyedepo, also recently warned the FG against implementing the law.
