The Kwara State branch of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) is reportedly divided over the endorsement of two rival governorship candidates. One faction met with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Alhaji Yaman Abdullahi, and offered its support, while another group met the incumbent governor, Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and endorsed him for the March 18, 2023 governorship and State Assembly elections. CAN’s state Publicity Secretary, Apostle Shina Ibiyemi, said the executive did not take an official position because the two groups belong to different churches, and the association sought to avoid internal division.
The Archbishop of Kwara Province of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Most Rev. Israel Amoo, issued a statement dissociating the church from the alleged endorsement of Governor Abdulrazaq. He affirmed that the province’s eight bishops reject the “misleading and ill‑calculated” endorsement, describing it as the work of a charlatan intent on dragging CAN into partisan politics. Amoo emphasized that CAN never met, either overtly or clandestinely, to endorse any party as the preferred choice for the Christian community in the state. He characterized the endorsement meeting as a deceitful “courtesy visit,” noting that invited CAN members were unaware of any political agenda and that media coverage misrepresented the event. According to Amoo, the governor had neither sought nor received an endorsement from the Christian community, making the reported media endorsement “shocking, devilish, and ungodly.” He called on all members of the Church of Nigeria in Kwara, as well as all Spirit‑filled Christians, to disregard the misleading publication and prevent further division within the body of Christ.
Rev. Father Raph Ajewole, Director of Ecumenical Affairs for CAN, also condemned the purported endorsement, labeling it “ungodly, evil and satanic.” Speaking on a Radio Kwara programme in Ilorin, Ajewole clarified that the endorsement was false, that CAN had not been invited to meet the governor, and that the association holds no grievance with any individual or group. He affirmed that the state’s CAN members continue to pray for the governor, politicians, and the people of Kwara, seeking peace and harmony throughout the state.
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