Caleb Ifeanyi Onah, PBA Journalism MenteeIn a bid to check the proliferation of fake clerics, the Christian Association of Clergies in Nigeria has started issuing identification numbers to all valid Christian Clerics within the country.
The National Coordinator of the group, Justice Alpha Ikpeama, and the National Secretary, Bishop Joseph Ajujungwa, made this known to the public through a joint press statement made available to journalists in Onitsha, Anambra State, on Wednesday.
This is coming weeks after the unveiling of Senator Kashim Shettima as the Vice Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) when some men dressed in clerical robes appeared at the ceremony.
Purported clergies who attended Tinubu’s unveiling of Shettima as his running mateIt later became a subject of controversy as Christian groups in the country said they were not clergymen even though the APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s media aides claimed they were real clergymen invited for the ceremony.
The group explained that the decision to start issuing ID numbers to Clerics was informed by the appearance of some men purported to clergy at the APC event in Abuja on the 20th of July.
They said such incident of un-ordained persons wearing priestly regalia brought disrespect and shame to the association and the Christian body in general.
The group added that the issuance of ID numbers would help identify truly ordained bishops and other ministers of God and bring sanity to the fold by eliminating the wolves in sheep clothing.
“Issuing identification numbers to Clerics will make it easy for people to quickly and accurately identify genuine clerics.” they said.
CAC further explained that to increase the efficiency and quality of the task, they will be collaborating with the Bible Family Christian Media (BFCM) popularly known as the Bible Media.
Part of the statement read:
“We are commencing the enumeration of clergies in the country. This is a measure to serve as a guide for ministers’ information, as a compendium for the accessibility of information; thereby offering avenues for partnership and data-bank information generation exchange.
“It will also function as a unifying platform for the body of Christ and serve the purpose of globalisation.
“This idea was muted after the clergies reflected and shared their views on the state of affairs and false approach in Christianity. We now promised to embark on moves toward a rescue mission for the state of Nigerian churches/ministers.
“This would be done in collaboration with the Bible Family Christian Media also known as the Bible Media, a global Christian research and publicity network to substantiate the supremacy and authority of the Holy Bible.
“All the professional bodies, particularly the Nigerian Bar Association, even the native doctors are being identified with identification numbers, CACN, therefore, call on all concerned bodies to cooperate with the clergies and the Bible Media to actualise this noble mission which would be done under each Christian bloc, while a six-month period would be given for accomplishing the same.”
The Cleric Association further justified their actions by referring to other bodies and institutions in the country like the Nigerian Bar Association.
Recently, the Traditional Religious Practitioners’ Association (TRPA), in Nigeria filed action against the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) at the Federal High Court sitting in Enugu over the rejection of their application for registration as a religious body such as the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, and the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, NSCIA. They claimed that CAC action amounted to discrimination.
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