Akinola was at one time President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, an ecumenical body bringing together 52 million Protestant, Catholic, and African independent Christians. During his Presidency, the National Ecumenical Centre in Abuja was completed, which had been a building ruin for 16 years. Akinola was voted out of his position as National President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in June 2007, and replaced by the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Nigeria, who polled 72 votes to Akinola's 33 votes. This followed criticism of Akinola's allegedly high handed leadership style and of his alleged failure to confront Nigerian President Obasanjo as other Christian leaders had. Subsequently, his candidacy as Vice President was rejected by the General Assembly of the Christian Association of Nigeria.