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Daniel Okoh, president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), says Christians are worried about the possibility of becoming second-class citizens in Nigeria.
He said this on Thursday in his address, after he was inaugurated as the new president of the association.
Okoh, who is the general superintendent of Christ Holy Church International in Onitsha, was elected after getting the votes of the 259 delegates — he taked over from Samson Ayokunle.
In what appeared to be a reference to the choice of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to field Muslims as presidential and vice-presidential candidates for the 2023 elections, Okoh said such a decision is insensitive to Christians.
“We are coming in at the time that all of us in the Christian faith believe that some section of political leaders are not sensitive to the diverse nature of our population when certain decisions are being made,” he said.
“Many Christians feel and have the genuine fear that there is a deliberate plan to remove the Christian faith from the scheme of things and make us second-class citizens in our own country.
“There is genuine fear borne out of the recent happenings in our polity, that is, the same-faith ticket in one of the major political parties in Nigeria despite the caution raised by CAN since two years ago.
“Whatever happens, no matter how many times our sensibilities are insulted, we must resolve to make a positive impact on the political, economic and social systems of our dear nation.”
Okoh was born on November 12, 1963 in Kano, and hails from Ndoni in Ogba/Egbema LGA of Rivers state.
The archbishop attended Dennis Memorial Grammar School, Onitsha and studied political scale and education at the University of Port Harcourt, from where he graduated in 1988.
Afterwards, he attended Christ Holy Church Seminary, Onitsha, where he got a diploma in Theology. He is married to Ngozi Okoh and they have four children.
Among persons present at the event were Samson Ayokunle, former CAN president; Stephen Panya, president of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA); Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP); Ifeanyi Okowa, Delta governor and vice-presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); Samuel Ortom, Benue governor, among others.
