A new President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Most Reverend Daniel Chukwudumebi Okoh, will be unveiled on July 28, 2022, as the eighth president of CAN, during the Year 2022 General Assembly and leadership transition programme unfolding at the Ecumenical Centre, Abuja.
He succeeds the seventh president of CAN, Rev. Dr. Olasupo Ayokunle, one of the most engaging and successful presidents of the Christian Association of Nigeria CAN, whose tenure ends July 28, 2022.
PROFILE OF NEW CAN PRESIDENT
The Most Rev. Daniel Chukwudumebi Okoh, a native of Ndoni in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State, was born on November 12, 1963 in Kano to Christian parents.
A product of the famous Dennis Memorial Grammar School, Onitsha, he graduated from the University of Port-Harcourt in Second Class Upper Division in Political Science and Education in 1988.
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 relevant to his ministry work 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.
He engages with people of other religions in dialogue for peaceful co-existence and sustainable development.
For more than 20 years, 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)
* Member, Board of African Council of Religious Leaders – Religions for Peace.
* Board member of Christian Solidarity Worldwide (Nigeria).
* Between 2000 and 2003, the only African representative on 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, Okoh was one of the six delegates that represented the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the National Political Reform Conference of 2005 organised by the Federal Government of Nigeria.
From 2009 – 2011, he served on the board of the National Orientation Agency (NOA) as an Institutional representative of the Christian Association of Nigeria.
Over the years, Okoh, a de-tribalised Nigerian, has built friendships 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 world’s peoples and sustainable development. He is married to Ngozi and blessed with four children.
REV. DR. SUPO AYOKUNLE, OUT-GOING PRESIDENT
As Ayokunle hands over the baton to Okoh on Thursday, he (Ayokunle) remains an executive member of the Baptist World Alliance, whose head office is in Falls Church, Virginia.
Equally, he is a Central Working Committee member of the World Council of Churches and a member of the executive of the World body.
Ayokunle is a man of the Spirit, a trained pastor, an astute Counsellor and a versatile Administrator. A seasoned tele-evangelist whose sermons, especially on the New Frontiers, a cable television station owned by his denomination, is blessing many souls.
He edited Effective Leadership in the Twenty-first Century (the fruit of The Life Builders Conference he convened). He is the President and Founder of Waymaker International Ministry.
