CAN: Aggrieved Bishops Threaten To Drag Oritsejafor To Court
BEVERLY HILLS, CA, December 11, (THEWILL) - A group of Bishops
under the auspices of Bishop and Clerics Forum of Nigeria (BAFCON) from
the Niger Delta recently suspended by the Christian Association of
Nigeria (CAN) have threatened to drag the CAN President, ArchBishop Ayo
Oritsejafor, to court. The Bishops who are from the South South chapter
of CAN were allegedly suspended by CAN leadership for trying to broker
peace among feuding parties in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP). The clerics, led by its President, Prophet Jones Ode Erue, had
embarked on what they called a Global Peace Relief Initiative, and had
visited former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar and the Adamawa State
Governor, Alhaji Murtala Nyako, with the intention of brokering peace
between the G7 governors and the presidency. But impeccable sources said
their peace mission did not go down well with Oritsejafor, an
associate of President Goodluck Jonathan, who felt insulted that the
clerics had initiated the peace move when he had failed to do so
because of his purported romance with the presidency. Oritsejafor is
alleged to be bent on protecting the interest of the President because
of the patronage he allegedly gets and as such sees the visit by the
group of clerics as plans to fight against the interest of President
Jonathan. 'It's no longer a secret that Ayo (Oritsejafor) is a card
carrying member of PDP and he sees everyone who fraternizes with former
vice president Atiku and the G-7 governors as enemies of his president
friend . "While should the CAN president be angry because some bishops
visited Atiku and Adamawa governor when he moves around with President
Jonathan and romances with state governors," a source close to the CAN
leadership alleged. Sources said that Oritsejafor had allegedly ganged
up with one of his right-hand men, Archbishop, God-Dowell Avwomakpa, an
ally of Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, to suspend the Bishops who had
initiated the peace move. The suspension was contained in a statement
signed by Avwomakpa, who is CAN's South-South Chairman . 'There is
nothing wrong with clergymen initiating or brokering peace process
between two factions but for some bishops to do so in the name of a body
that I head and the other executives are not consulted gives a wrong
signal and suggests a dangerous trend in the body of Christ. It means
there are people with political interest or ambition in our fold," the
statement said. The bishops purportedly suspended, according to the
source, are Prophet Jones Erue, Bishop Julius Ediwe, Bishop Bob Manuel,
Bishop Abhulemen Josiah, Bishop Konel Offiong, Bishop Innocent
Chiedozie, Bishop Alex Okubo, Bishop Felix Ezebunwo, Bishop Charles
Okoh, Bishop Peter Abingon and Archbishop Eddy Ogbonda. It was gathered
that Oritsejafor has officially disowned the clerics, saying CAN has no
hand in the visit . In defence of the actions of CAN, a group which
styled itself as Christian Youth Movement for Emancipation and Justice,
(CYMEJ) has reportedly castigated and condemned the Bishops. But the
clerics led by Prophet Jones Ode Erue have threatened to institute a
legal action against Avwomakpa and CAN for daring to suspend them.
Prophet Erue told THEWILL at the weekend that the Archbishop had no
moral capacity to suspend them. 'Avwomakpa has no capacity to suspend
us. He is not our member. We only invited him to join us when our
delegation visited Governor Rotimi Amaechi. We give him 48 hours to
retract the announcement of our suspension and all the bad things he
said about us on Delta Television or else we will institute legal action
against him and CAN,' he said. Prophet Erue said that with the
development, everyone now knows the enemies of the country "and we
would not allow them to sleep." "Everyone must take issues of national
interest seriously. The picture of our visit as being painted by these
people is cosmetics, fake. The true picture is that this country is in a
big mess because of the leadership crisis at hand . "How can you go to
the pages of newspapers to suspend people without calling to hear from
them first. On what ground is the man doing the suspension? Are we
members of your association, is CAN compulsory for every Christian, must
you be a member of CAN before you can be a pastor? I am not a member of
CAN, my church is registered with CAC and I don't need permission from
CAN of PFN to operate ' he said. He said that they might not own private
jets but they are people of unquestionable characters, dependable
leaders and steward of peace. "We are disappointed that a leader could
sit and watch his two children fight while the rest of us suffer only to
come and blackmail those who take their time to seek solutions to the
crisis," he added. Erue said that no amount of blackmail or intimidation
would deter them from the noble mission to rescue the country from
imminent collapse. He commended the fight against impunity, injustice,
and lawlessness embarked upon by Nyako and other governors within the
Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and for their resilience against all odds
and persecution. 'We are bishops, the highest body in the Christiandom
which comprises about 500 bishops; we are troubled with the situation in
the country. Our traditional rulers have failed; we clergy men must
wake up to our calling and join forces with those who are fighting
impunity in the nation's interest,'he said.