CAMA 2020: You Can’t Control What You Don’t Own, You Want To Kill Us, CAN Tells Buhari

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has rejected the recently signed CAMA Act 2020 by President Muhammadu Buhari, saying that it is targeted at killing the churches.

Describing it as obnoxious and satanic, CAN called for a halt in the implementation of the Act until churches are exempted from it.

It cited some aspects of the Act which sought to bring the churches under control of saying “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 in a statement by Adebayo Oladeji, Special Assistant on Media and Communications to CAN President, Rev Samson Ayokunle, titled “Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) rejects CAMA Completely,” frowned at government’s moves to control what it does not own or establish.

According to the statement, “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.

“By implications, he has repealed the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 1990 (1). 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.

“We 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.

“At the 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.

“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.”

“While we are not against the government fighting corruption wherever it may be found, we completely reject 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.

“We call on President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently return the law to the National Assembly for immediate amendment.”