ABUJA, September 15, 2008 (AFP) - Nigeria's most senior Anglican archbishop, Peter Akinola, vowed Monday to continue the fight against ordaining homosexual clergy.

'We have not given up yet,' Akinola, who is leading the battle against gay priests, told reporters on the eve of a summit of the Anglican church in Nigeria.

'There has been a major fracture in the Anglican communion. We are no longer today where we were together in say five years ago because of differences of opinions and understanding of scriptures,' he said.

But 'there is still room for discussions. Our desire is to have a united Anglican communion based on the authority of scripture,' said Akinola, ahead of the thrice-yearly conference taking place in the federal capital Abuja.

Akinola leads the Nigerian church, which accounts for 17 million of the 77 million Anglicans worldwide, or a fifth of the world's Anglicans.

In Africa, there are 35 million followers of the Anglican Church -- more than half the worldwide communion.

Early this year in Jerusalem about 300 bishops from 25 countries -- most of them in the southern hemisphere -- formed a new movement rejecting the liberal stance towards homosexuality.