The President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, ( CAN) Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor has finally spoken on the controversial $9.3m smuggled into South Africa by two Nigerians and an Israeli, using his private jet.

He broke his silence during the National Executive Council meeting of CAN on Monday at the National Christian Centre, Abuja.

The CAN leader said he had kept quiet all the while, because he needed to explain his position to the church which is his primary constituency.

Oritsejafor stated that he would “not do anything to tarnish the image of Jesus Christ or compromise the divine standard of the church”.

Addressing the body, he said: “As you are all aware, the media has been awash 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.