…Says Govt. Cannot Take Over The Control Of Churches
- It Was Badly Drafted — Falana
By Gbenga Abulude
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Thursday, rejected the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020 (CAMA), saying appointing a supervising minister to take over the role of church trustees in case of breaches is ‘ungodly’ and ‘unacceptable’.
The Christian body said the new act would rank the church as a secular institution under secular control.
The Companies and Allied Matters Bill, 2020 was signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari on August 7. The bill passed by the National Assembly replaced the 1990 CAMA.
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Under Section 839 (1) and (2) of the CAMA law, religious bodies and charity organisations will be strictly regulated by the Registrar-general of Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and a supervising minister.
CAMA provides that the commission may by order, suspend the trustees of an association or a religious body and appoint an interim manager or managers to coordinate its affairs where it reasonably believes that there has been any misconduct or mismanagement, or where the affairs of the association are being run fraudulently or where it is necessary or desirable for the purpose of public interest.
A statement issued by Mr Adebayo Oladeji, Special Assistant on Media and Communications to CAN President, Rev Samson Ayokunle, stated that the Federal Government had declared war on the church if it moved on to implement the law.
The statement reads: “The leadership of CAN rejected outrightly the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020 that was assented to by President Buhari recently, saying that the law, to say the least, was unacceptable, ungodly, reprehensible, and an ill-wind that blew no one any good and a time bomb waiting to explode.”
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It said while CAN was not against the government fighting corruption wherever it might be found, yet it completely rejected the idea of bringing the church, which is technically grouped among the NGOs, under control of the government.
Founder of Living Faith Church Worldwide, Bishop David Oyedepo had on Sunday condemned the CAMA law and rejected it in totality.
Also, the leader of INRI Evangelical spiritual church, Primate Ayodele had condemned the law.
Human Rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana, (SAN) responding to noise generated by the CAMA law, posted @SerapNigeria handle on Thursday, “I have read the law. It was badly drafted. A government that set out to facilitate the ease of doing business could not have come up with a 604-page business law (CAMA 2020)…It’s illegal.
“Registered Nigerian NGOs were regulated in the past in line with the practice in all democratic societies. The only addition which is objectionable is the power conferred on the commission to take over and manage NGOs on allegations of misconduct. It is illegal.
“It’s illegal because it is a violation of the fundamental rights to freedom of association guaranteed by section 40 of the Constitution.”
