By Sam Eyoboka & Caleb Ayansina

ERSTWHILE President of  Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Most  Rev. Peter Jasper Peter Akinola, and many other religious leaders have declined to attend the meeting of Christian elders scheduled for Uyo,  Akwa Ibom State, today,  investigations have revealed.

The meeting was convened by the Catholic Archbishop  of Abuja Diocese and former President of CAN, John  Cardinal  Onaiyekan, at the residence of another  former CAN  President and ex-Prelate  of the Methodist Church Nigeria, His Eminence  Sunday Mbang.

Apart from Akinola, it was learned that most of the senior religious leaders and elders have vowed not  to attend the meeting, with many of them described it illegal and capable of portraying the church in bad light before the Body of Christ.

In a letter to Onaiyekan made available to  journalists, yesterday,  in Abuja, Akinola said he would not attend the meeting because the information got to him very late.

He said:  “You  will recall that in our telephone conversation of June 25  about the possibility of a peace meeting with our brethren in CAN leadership, I was warmly enthusiastic about it.

‘’We even proposed July 4 and that His Eminence, Prelate Mbang, would be glad to host the meeting at his Uyo residence.   Since then I waited to hear from you the response of others to our godly proposals. Your mail arrived my inbox midnight, yesterday, in Nairobi.

“I am   very sorry to have to say that I might not be able to attend the Uyo consultation. I have been travelling rather extensively within and outside these shores in the last few weeks. In point of fact, I just came back from Nairobi only this afternoon exhausted, having spent two sleepless nights due to flight delays.