The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has rejected the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020 that was signed by President Muhammadu Buhari recently, and has said the Federal Government is inviting trouble.

This is contained in a statement issued by the Special Assistant (Media and Communication), to the CAN President, Pastor Adebayo Oladeji on Thursday, August 20th, 2020.

Recall that during the first term of the President, there was a Public Hearing conducted by the National Assembly on the Non- Governmental Organisations Bill tagged ‘Bill for an Act To Provide For The Establishment Of The Non-Governmental Organizations Regulatory Commission For The Supervision, Co-ordination And Monitoring Of Non-Governmental Organizations’ which was attended by CAN and many NGOs.

Read Also: WHAT SIN HAS THE THE PLACES OF WORSHIP COMMITTED - CAN ASKS FG

At the Public Hearing, CAN said 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.

“We thought it was all over until we heard of the CAMA that was assented to by the President, making the rejected bill a law.

“The satanic section of the controversial and ungodly law is Section 839 (1) &(2) which empowers the Commission 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,’ CAN said.

CAN stated that while it is not against the Government fighting corruption wherever it may be found, it completely rejects the idea of bringing the Church, which is technically grouped among the NGOs, under control of the Government.

“The Church cannot be controlled by the Government because of its spiritual responsibilities and obligations.

“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”.

“Nigeria should not be compared with any other nation when it comes to the relationship between religious institutions and the government. In Nigeria, people’s religions are tied to their humanity and of course, their life.

“It is an invitation to the trouble that the government does not have the power to manage. 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,” the statement said.

Read Also: SOUTHERN KADUNA KILLINGS: FG HAS NOT DONE ENOUGH TO END THE VIOLENCE - CAN