The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) warned that any candidate with a questionable character in the forthcoming general elections would not serve the common good of the electorate. The warning was issued in a communiqué released at the close of the CBCN’s 2023 first plenary meeting, held at the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria in Abuja. The document was co‑signed by CBCN President Archbishop Lucius Ugorji and Secretary Bishop Donatus Ogun.
The bishops emphasized that politicians with evil intentions cannot genuinely work for the people or the nation’s development. “These upcoming elections provide us with yet another opportunity in our national history to choose leaders capable of governing for the common good,” the communiqué read. “This is now the time to reject evil, greater or lesser, and wisely choose good and capable candidates at all levels. Our votes are precious; we must use them well. We encourage all eligible citizens to come out en masse to vote for God‑fearing, honest, vibrant, and transparent leaders for a better Nigeria.”
The clerics called on the Independent National Electoral Commission and its officials to ensure that the newly adopted technologies for accreditation, transmission, and collation are not manipulated to produce false results. They also urged law‑enforcement agents, whose primary duty is to maintain law and order and protect persons and property during the elections, to perform their responsibilities efficiently, professionally, and without fear, favour, or partiality.
In the same vein, the CBCN advised youths not to allow themselves to be used as thugs or agents of disruption and violence before, during, and after the elections. Voters were enjoined to ensure proper counting before the transmission of results. The bishops condemned the practice of vote‑buying and selling, noting that it frustrates and compromises the free choice of the people. “We vehemently continue to condemn this practice and urge all politicians and the electorate to avoid this unlawful and sinful practice and embrace the values of human dignity, integrity, and decency in order to have free, fair, and credible elections,” the communiqué stated.
Finally, the CBCN called on all judges and lawyers to see themselves as ministers in the temple of truth and justice, working to make the judiciary the “last hope of the common man.”
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