The leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has distanced itself from reports making the rounds that it has endorsed Chief Joe Gadzama as President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).

The controversy was said to have arose when Gadzama paid a courtesy call on the CAN leadership in the last NEC meeting held in Ibadan where he solicited for their prayers and moral support for the NBA election.

CAN, in a statement issued by Pastor Adebayo Oladeji, the Media Assistant to the CAN President at the weekend in Abuja, explained that the body had only prayed for the best candidate to emerge as the next president of the NBA.

CAN, in a letter dated July 7, further washed its hands off the endorsement as interpreted from an earlier letter written to the group.

The letter read in part: “Reference to the letter addressed to CLASFON on the above subject matter, we write to correct the impression that the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has endorsed any sole candidate for the President of NBA considering the fact that there may be some other contestants in the race. CAN is not and will never be a partisan Body.

READ ALSO: Kumuyi advises politicians on Muslim-Muslim, Christian-Christian tickets

“We therefore, write to disabuse the minds of all concerned that this Association is not in support of any particular candidate in the race over any candidate. We pray for the best to emerge as the leader of this noble association.”

In a related development, the CAN President, Rev. Dr Samson Ayokunle, who is out of Nigeria, reiterated the position of the association in remaining neutral in the NBA Election in an interview granted to an online media.

“We never took any decision to back any candidate. We have no preferred candidate. All we can do is to pray for the best of the three candidates, who will use the position to serve God and humanity to emerge,” he stated.

The Star