The leadership of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has taken a swipe at the former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nasir El-Rufai, for questioning the credibility of CAN President, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor.
El-Rufai was quoted in an interview he granted a national daily as saying “Look, Pastor Oritsejafor is the propaganda chief of the PDP. He lacks credibility. He is not a religious leader. He is a religious pretender.
“From his statements, he is a bigot, he is an ethnic irredentist and no one should take him seriously. It is sad that such a person is the head of CAN. So, he can say whatever he wants to say but we know who he is working for, we know who gave him his private jet. So, why should we worry about someone like that? He has zero credibility.”
In a statement signed by Reverend Emmanuel Dziggau, Head of TEKAN/ECWA Block in CAN and Elder Sunday Oibe, CAN’s National Director (Research, Planning & Strategy), the national Christian body cautioned El-Rufai against using gutter language against men of god.
The body also noted that the former minister has remain the greatest enemy of former Head of State, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, saying he was consistent in abusing Buhari when he was FCT Minister.
The statement reads, “Our attention has been drawn to an irresponsible comment by a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mallam Ahmed Nasir El-Rufai September 14 2013 edition of SATURDAY SUN entitled: “My problem with Atiku, Obasanjo – El-Rufai” concerning the President of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor wherein he alluded to Papa Ayo’s credibility. But who is El-Rufai to talk about credibility in Nigeria? It is laughable for an individual like El-Rufai looking for relevance to be alluding to Ayo’s credibility.
“If Pastor Ayo doesn’t have credibility, who else have credibility in Nigeria of today? Is it El-Rufai? The fact that El-Rufai in his tweets abused our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ and Christians ignored him doesn’t give him the impetus to make unguarded comments about Pastor Ayo who is the leader of Christians in Nigeria. As Christians, we respect other faith and never have we abused the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar 111 who is the leader of Muslims in Nigeria. The fact that Christians are not violent doesn’t mean he should go far with his utterances. He is not in a position to tell us who should be the leader of Christians in Nigeria.
“If El-Rufai doesn’t have a father who should have properly brought him up and for which reason he started using gutter language to abuse Jesus Christ and Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, he should go to psychiatric hospital for serious mental examination. This is a task we are giving his friends and relatives. His brain should be examined because it seems something is wrong. We can no longer fold our hands and allow Christian leaders to be abused by no person than El-Rufai. We can no longer take it; enough is enough. Anytime he abuses Christian leaders and Jesus Christ, we Christians will let him know that he has many forces to contend with.
“We want to let General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) know that his problem with the country is El-Rufai. It was this same El-Rufai that was abusing Buhari when he was in the cabinet of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo that is now fighting ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Obasanjo and all the fingers that fed him just because he has lost out of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), hoping that when Buhari becomes President in 2015, he would be given a job. Buhari should know that El-Rufai ia a political liability who is looking for survival. Any politician who allows El-Rufai around him will always fail election, even before campaigns. Nobody will like to be associated with a political liability”.
On the private jet controversy, CAN gave the former minister a seven-day ultimatum to name the person he claimed may have donated the private jet to the CAN President.
“We are giving El-Rufai seven days ultimatum to inform Nigerians and the world the person he claims to know that gave Pastor Ayo his private Jet. If he fails to do that, we will open up on him and his dirty life.
“El-Rufai stinks to the highest heaven. He is morally depraved and lacks credibility. This was the man who mismanaged the FCT administration and allocated plots of land to his cronies and girlfriends and mistresses. What credibility has a man who as FCT Minister was paying salaries to a female member of the NYSC?
“We want to make it unequivocally clear that Pastor Ayo is not in PDP, he’s not a politician and so cannot be a propaganda machinery of PDP as erroneously alleged by El-Rufai. Pastor Ayo is a religious leader and he remains so,” the statement reads further.
