Don't pick a gubernatorial candidate for the people – Group tells Taraba CAN

A group under the umbrella of the International Association of Christian Ministers of Nigeria, Taraba State Chapter, distanced itself on Tuesday from the alleged endorsement of a particular gubernatorial candidate in the State by the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN.

CAN's alleged endorsement of a gubernatorial candidate is trending on various social media platforms.

Making the association's position known to journalists in Jalingo, the state capital, the group's leader, Bishop Silas Usman Loto, said they were not part of the alleged endorsement of a candidate for next week's gubernatorial election in the state.

Stressing that the gubernatorial candidates of the All Progressives Congress, APC, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the Social Democratic Party, SDP, are Christians, the group sees no reason why it should give its all weight behind one of the candidates.

The association considered the endorsement of "a specific candidate" to be "wrong" and questioned why the CAN leadership in the state continued to meddle in politics.

According to Bishop Loto: “CAN should let the people decide for themselves who should lead them. It should not impose its opinion on anyone.”

He cited how CAN "succeeded in creating problems for the population in 2015 and 2019 by using the association to solicit support for the current administration".

To try to engage in such an act again, the group believed, would be contrary to the growth of the state.

The CAN in Taraba recently announced the endorsement of the PDP gubernatorial candidate, an action that raises dust within the Christian community in the state.