The
President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo
Oritsejafor, yesterday broke his silence over the $9.3m arms deal
scandal in which his private jet was used to carry the huge sum of money
out of Nigeria to South Africa. Speaking at the National Executive
Council meeting of CAN at the National Christian Center in Abuja, Pastor
Oritsejafor absolved himself of any wrong doing, saying he would never
do anything that would tarnish the image of Jesus Christ
"I wish to
assure you that I will not do anything to tarnish the image of Jesus
Christ or compromise the divine standard of the church. As you are all
aware, the media has been awashed in the past few days about an
unfortunate incident involving the movement of funds from Nigeria to
South Africa. In the unfortunate news reports, attempts have been made
to link me directly with the transaction. So far, I have refrained from
making any direct public response pending the time that I would have
briefed the leaders of the church and explained my position on the
issues to them.
I believe that the primary institution that I owe any
explanation to is the church. At the risk of being seen to be defending
myself, I wish to confirm to the distinguished leaders of the church
that the Bombardier Challenger 601 aircraft in question is mine. The
aircraft was presented to me as a gift by members of our congregation
and ministry partners worldwide at my 40th anniversary of my call into
the ministry. May I be permitted to stress that the aircraft was not
given to me by the President of Nigeria, neither was it a settlement for
any political favour or patronage. With the benefit of hindsight, the
President of the country was a guest in our church during the
anniversary celebration when the jet was presented to me. This has
construed an implication that it was a gift from the President of the
country. The President of Nigeria has nothing to do with the gift of the
aircraft. By the way, I still wonder why all those saying this cannot
come out to show proof so that the matter can be put to rest once and
for all. Let me say that this might be an issue of the court in the near
future ”he said
He said he was also shocked and distressed at
finding out what the private jet which he leased to the company managing
it used it for, adding that there is a war being waged against the
church in Nigeria
"Based on this, I leased the aircraft on August 2,
2014, to a company to run it. It was the lease that entered into an
agreement with the people who carried out the transfer of funds. Having
leased the aircraft to the Green Coast Produce Company Limited, any
transaction undertaken with the aircraft can no longer be attached to
me. Inasmuch as I am shocked and distressed by the incident, I wish to
appeal to Christians in Nigeria to remember that a war has been waged
against the Nigerian church. This war is being fought on many fronts and
this unfortunate incident is another dimension in the assault against
the church." He said
He went further to state that;
"The media
hype and the deliberate distortion of information that followed it
confirmed that forces that desperately desire to cause division and
disunity in the church are at work. Even the devil knows that a house
that is divided cannot stand. As Christians, we need unity in the church
now more than ever. We are witnessing inhuman attacks by religious
extremists against Christians in the northern part of the country, while
christian infrastructure is being destroyed in hundreds. If we permit
the enemy divide us, our chances of corporate survival shall be severely
threatened. Distinguished leaders of the church, please permit me to
state clearly before God and before all of you here present today, that I
am not a party to the movement of $9.3m from Nigeria to South Africa to
purchase arms and ammunition. I am not part of the deal. I know nothing
about it.” he said
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