CAN condemns President Buhari’s trip to Saudi Arabia

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has condemned President Muhammadu Buhari’s trip to Saudi Arabia for a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation a day after his inauguration.

CAN, which described the President’s visit for the meeting as unconstitutional, said it confirmed worries about his alleged Islamisation agenda.

In a statement on Saturday by Pastor Adebayo Oladeji, the Special Assistant on Media and Communications to the CAN President, Rev. Samson Ayokunle, the Christian body wondered if the President would be ready to attend the meeting of the World Council of Churches or ask his deputy to represent him whenever the members met.

CAN also said as Buhari began his second term in office, he should have a blueprint for the security challenges facing the country as well as avoid lopsided appointments in every facet of the government, “especially in the appointment of chief security officers.”

It added, “With all the cries we have made about the unconstitutionality of Nigeria’s membership of the OIC, going for such conference was still the first assignment of President Buhari after being sworn in.

“Are the government officials listening to those who voted them into power at all? Is the government not heating up the polity?

“We wonder if the President is ready to attend the meeting of the World Council of Churches or be asking the Vice President to represent him whenever the members meet.”

The group also said the security bodies and other agencies of the government should not be dominated by people of same faith and ethnicity as the President.

It said, “The preponderance of the Fulani people at the corridors of power is what Chief Olusegun Obasanjo referred to as Fulanisation agenda.”

CAN urged the Federal Government to listen to Obasanjo’s position on the alleged Fulanisation and Islamisation agenda instead of misinterpreting his warnings to the nation.

“The likes of Obasanjo are treated as honourable statesmen in the United States and the United Kingdom, but here, we abuse our former leaders whenever their thoughts are critical of the government’s actions or policies. This exposes us as a people that have lost their moral values,” the body said.