The Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) has advised individuals and groups describing the new Company and Allied Matters Act, 2020 (CAMA) as an illegality, to take another look at the Act and act responsibly.
The group said in a statement signed by its Chairman Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary Cassidy Madueke, that the critics are in no position to warn or threaten President Muhammadu Buhari over a validly passed law.
“Our attention has been drawn to a statement by a self-styled Supreme Primate of the World Council of Bishops, Polycarp Sunday, who described CAMA 2020 as illegality as well as an attack on the Church.
“We wonder how he could brashly suggest that churches in Nigeria cannot be subjected to the laws of the land, and at the same time claim that ‘Nigeria as a nation under democracy is safeguarded by constitutional provisions’.
“So what is the essence of his ill-thought criticism of CAMA if he concedes that constitutional provisions are a country’s guiding principles? We don’t want to assume that he is calling for different religious groups to be governed by the laws spelt out in their various books to the detriment of the nation’s laws.
“For the avoidance of doubt, CAMA does not offend any provisions of the Constitution and does not take away anyone’s right to freedom of association or worship. By virtue of Section 4 of the 1999 Constitution, the Legislature is empowered to make laws for the good governance of the country and the Parliament is a representative of the People, so an act of the National Assembly is a valid law as long as it is constitutional.
“We, however, recognise that what ‘Prophet’ Polycarp Sunday is doing is not different from what he did in the run-up to the 2019 general election when he expressed a wish for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to win. We, however, urge him to stick to his ‘calling’, the statement added.
The group also wondered what religious groups and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) are afraid of in the new law.
“We are still at a loss as to what these individuals and groups are really scared of. “Have Churches and Islamic groups not always been subjected to regulations under the old CAMA as incorporated trustees? So what is so scary about the new Act to warrant all the colourful sermons directed at the President?
“What we know however is that in every country on earth, there are reasonable laws and statutory guidelines within which churches and other charitable organisations must operate. In the United States, there is a Church Audit Procedures Act (CAPA) while the UK has a similar law on the incorporation of trustees that all churches and charitable organizations abide by.
“And like many Nigerians, we wonder how opening up books for scrutiny obstructs the right to worship or the right of association.
“Besides, there is no way a trustee or trustees could be removed without a petition by members and a valid court order”.
The group also reassured Nigerians that President Buhari has no ulterior motives with the new CAMA law, contrary to the views peddled by “unscrupulous people and religious bigots”.