As leaders of Tarrayar Ekklesiyoyin Kristi A Nigeria and Evangelical Church Winning All (TEKAN and ECWA) are meeting in Kaduna today over Christian Association of Nigeria’s election, SaharaReporters can authoritatively report that the outgoing president of CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor is deliberately blocking ECWA Church national president, Dr. Jeremiah Malankaltho Gado from contesting CAN’s presidential election.
A source in CAN national leadership disclosed that Oritsejafor is behind the plot to stop Gado, who was unanimously voted as TEKAN/ECWA block candidate after defeating Rev. Jerry Madibo with 15 votes to 7 on March 29th, 2016 in Jos, Plateau state.
The source added that after the March 29th emergence of Gado as block candidate, the apex organ of his church (General Church Council of ECWA) endorsed his candidature on April 15th in a communique but national secretariat of CAN rejected the nomination on flimsy grounds that clearly proved their interest in stopping Gado.
The communique which stated that the TEKAN/ECWA (Tarrayar Ekklesiyoyin Kristi A Nigeria and Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) block has never occupied CAN’s presidency hence it ratified Gado’s emergence in line with rotational principle of CAN but Oritsejafor rejected Gado’s nomination by way of “divide and rule.”
It was further gathered that the Oritsejafor camp was responsible for the initial insinuation that President Muhammadu Buhari is sponsoring a Northern candidate, a propaganda that couldn’t convince a majority of the Church leaders hence they resort to blocking Gado by all means.
The Kaduna meeting according to another source became necessary following Oritsejafor’s insistence that TEKAN/ECWA block must not return Gado or at best fail to present a block candidate, which will enable him to plant his crony from Organization of African Independent Churches (OAIC) block.
The meeting is also organized to discard the March 29th that endorsed Gado.
SaharaReporters is in possession of several correspondences that detailed how Oritsejafor is plotting to block Rev Gado and pave the way for his anointed candidate.