Kano-born Daniel Okoh is new CAN President

Archbishop Daniel Okoh, who is the General Superintendent of Christ Holy Church, also known as Nation Builders, has been elected President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).

The Kano-born clergyman, who hails from Rivers State, was elected on Tuesday to steer the affairs of the Christian apex body that has found itself enmeshed in image crisis due to its involvement in partisan politics and what has also been described as its anti-Islam/anti-North activities, from era of Pastor Ayo Oritsajefor, continued by Rev Samson Ayokunle as President.

His new tenure as a none pentecostal Christian leader is believed to bring a new life in the leadership of the religious organization, as many, who reacted to his emergence, said.

CAN Spokesman, Joseph Daramola in a statement, said the election of Okoh followed the expiration of second term tenure of Rev Samson Olasupo Ayokunle of Nigerian Baptist Convention.

CAN is made up of five blocs: Christian Council of Nigeria (CCN), Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN), Christian Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (CPFN)/Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Organisation of African Instituted Churches (OAIC) and TEKAN and ECWA Fellowship.

The association had been scheduled to hold its general assembly on July 27 to usher in the new administration.

Profile of The Most Rev. Daniel Chukwudumebi Okoh

The Most Rev. Daniel Chukwudumebi OKOH was born on November 12, 1963 in Kano to Christian parents. He is a native of Ndoni in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria.

He is married to Ngozi and they are blessed with four children. Archbishop Daniel Okoh is a product of the famous Dennis Memorial Grammar School, Onitsha. In 1988, he graduated from the University of Port-Harcourt in Second Class Upper Division in Political Science and Education. Thereafter, he attended Christ Holy Church Seminary, Onitsha and was awarded a diploma in Theology. Since then he has undertaken many courses and participated in seminars that are relevant to his ministry work both in Nigeria and abroad.

As the General Superintendent of Christ Holy Church International – an African Independent Church – he leads his denomination in ecumenical relations with other denominations in the body of Christ and engages with people of other religions in dialogue for peaceful co-existence and sustainable development.

For more than 20 years, Most Rev. Daniel Okoh, has been actively involved in ecumenical relations and interfaith dialogue in and outside Nigeria through the following positions: International Chairman of the Organisation of African Instituted Churches (OAIC); National President of OAIC (Nigeria Region) (2005 – 2014); National Vice-President of Christian Association of Nigeria (2007 – 2013), former member, Board of Directors of Inter-Faith HIV/AIDS Coalition of Nigeria; Member, Governing Council of Good News Theological College and Seminary Accra, Ghana; Member, Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC);and Member of the Board of African Council of Religious Leaders – Religions for Peace. He is also a board member of Christian Solidarity Worldwide (Nigeria).

Between 2000 and 2003 he was the only African representative in the Steering Committee of the International Forum on Multicultural Ministry which was initiated and sponsored by the Mission and Evangelism Team of the World Council of Churches.

In the area of Politics and Governance, Archbishop Daniel Okoh was one of the six delegates that represented Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the National Political Reform Conference of 2005 organised by Federal Government of Nigeria. From 2009 – 2011 Most Rev. Daniel Okoh served on the board of National Orientation Agency (NOA) as an Institutional representative of Christian Association of Nigeria.

Over the years, Daniel Okoh, a de-tribalized Nigerian, has built friendship across religious and ethnic lines around the globe. He welcomes and participates in conversations and programmes that would bring about peaceful co-existence among the peoples of the world and sustainable development.