The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, and President of Evangelical Church Winning All, ECWA, Rev. Stephen Panya Baba, in line with the stand of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, have outrightly rejected the Companies and Allied Matters Act signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari on August 7. Section 839 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act which gives a provision for religious bodies, non-governmental organisations and charity organisations to be regulated by the registrar of the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, and a supervising minister.
The umbrella body of Christians in Nigeria had cautioned that the implementation of the law as it presently constituted is an invitation to trouble that the government does not have the power to manage.
As the fireworks between the Federal Government which has vowed to implement the Company and Allied Matters Act, CAMA, 2020 and religious organisations and human rights organisations which have described the Section 839 of the Act as “an anti-Christ law from the pit of hell”, continue the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG yesterday articulated its stand.
The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye in his response, told Vanguard that his position is not diametrically different from the stands of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN and the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN.
In an interview, the Head of Media and Public Relations, Pastor Olaitan Olubiyi said: “The stand of the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God and the leadership of the church on issues like this is not always different from whatever the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, and the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN.
“We always align ourselves with whatever the stand of the leadership of CAN and PFN on issues like this. The Redeemed Christian Church of God does not take any decision that is at variance with the stand of CAN and PFN and the same thing applies concerning this very issue.
“Daddy will not take a stand different from the ones of the two organisations, CAN and PFN. CAN and PFN have spoken on the issue of CAMA and as far as the Redeemed Christian Church of God is concerned that is our position too. We are in alignment with that stand,” the RCCG spokesman said.
In a similar development, ECWA President, Rev. Stephen Panya Baba expressed anger over President Muhammadu Buhari recent ascension into law of the CAMA, pledging that ECWA will endorse whatever CAN leadership decides to adopt to revert the obnoxious enactment.
“We are not happy and we urge the Federal Government to do the needful to revert this obnoxious law which is totally unacceptable,” he said, commending the prompt action of CAN leadership in condemning the law which has variously been condemned by several church organizations and human rights groups.
Expressing surprise at the silence of Christian members of the National Assembly over the enactment of the controversial aspects of the law, the ECWA president urged Christian leaders to engage such members before passing any guilt verdict on them, suggesting that several things in the process of making laws in the country.
“We are not in a position now to know what really happened during their deliberations, because I am aware that CAN made the position of the nation’s Christians known during the public hearing in the National Assembly.
“I will, therefore, advise our leaders to engage Christian members of the National Assembly to ascertain what truly happened during the Parliament’s deliberations.
Nevertheless, I can assure you that whatever CAN leadership decises to employ to revert this very obnoxious piece of legislation we are behind it,” Rev. Baba stated.
VANGUARD
