President Muhammadu Buhari
By M. Peter – Jos
Reactions have continued to trail the recently accented Companies and Allied Matters Act, CAMA, 2020 as the New Nigeria People’s Party, NNPP questions the accent, wondering if the country under the All Progressives Congress, APC was at war with God.
The NNPP reminded the ruling APC that the country is a secular one that for freedom of worship for all recognized religion without discrimination and called for a rethink as implementing the recently accented law would show bias against the Christian faith.
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In a statement issued and signed by the Party’s National Publicity Secretary, Emmanuel Olorunmagba, the Party noted that “Section 839 (1) & (2) of the CAMA, that empowers the Commission to suspend the trustees of an association including the Church and also to appoint the interim managers to manage the affairs of such Church is not only anti-Christian, but also a direct attack on the God of the Church.”
The statement continues, “The New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) is so concerned about happenings in Nigeria that appears as if the nation is at war with God, since the All Progressives Congress (APC) took over power; especially the issue of the recently assented Companies and Allied Matters Act, (CAMA) 2020. Before APC took over power in 2015, the palpable fear of many Nigerians was that the Buhari led administration will be so biased against the Christian faith and will not hide it; despite the fact that Nigeria is a secular state that supposed to allow freedom of worship for all recognised religions without discriminating against anyone, especially the two dominant religions (Christianity and Islam).
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“Unfortunately, happenings under this APC led administration is not only proving those who exercised such fear to be right, but the approach of the government towards the Christian faith appear as if Nigeria under this APC administration has been pitched against God like a nation at war with God. Just to cite one example: the report from the Dapchi girls that were abducted and later released, that Leah Sharibu was the only abducted Dapchi girl yet to regain her liberty only because she is a Christian and refused to denounce her faith is still very disturbing. Most disturbing is the fact that this administration and those who claimed to have negotiated for them have still not done enough to secure the release of Leah.
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“Now, President Muhammadu Buhari that has not been able to sign the Electorate Act Amendment Bill into law since 2019 had quickly assented the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020; regardless of the fact that a similar Bill tagged “Non-Governmental Organisations Regulations Bill” was outrightly rejected during the Public Hearing, because it was regarded as an attempt to attack the Church and trying to render it mere secular organisation.
“In a secular nation like Nigeria, the government should be fair to all religions, encourage freedom of worship and create level ground for all religions as well as create enabling environment for peaceful coexistence among people of different religions. Therefore, the NNPP calls on all concerned to as a matter of urgency reconsider the attempt to bring the Church, under the control of the government and henceforth, treat all recognised religious bodies in Nigeria with the fear of God and equality.”
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