Ahead of 2019 elections, the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan has called on politicians to shun manipulating the system to ascend unmerited positions.
Onaiyekan stated this at the inauguration of the Regional Episcopal Conference of West Africa Peace Committee, which was organised by Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, on Thursday in Abuja.
He also advised the Independent National Electoral Commission to make sure that the 2019 electoral process was conducted in a free and fair manner.
He said: “We are going towards a new election now and the atmosphere is full of all kinds of ugly rumours.
“We are allowed to vote for whom we like. When we finish voting they should tell us instead of manipulating, twisting, bribing and putting yourself in a position that nobody voted you in.
“The aspirants must not assume that they must win, if they have such impression, we are not going to have a free and fair election.
“I hope the government will really take it seriously, because the present government is a beneficiary of an effort to have a free and fair election.’’
Speaking on the topic ‘Prevention, Mediation, Resolution and Transformation of Conflicts in West Africa,’ Onaiyekan said that there has to be good governance in the country for peace to thrive.
He called on Nigerians to put all hands on deck in ensuring peace.
According to him, most of the conflicts in Africa, Nigeria inclusive, are because there is no good governance.
He said: “When the government is not doing its work by promoting peace, justice and truth, there will be no peace for anyone.
“A lot of people are grumbling, people are angry and they don’t know whom to attack so they attack whomever they see.
“But instead of us wasting our energy and time on conflicts and wars, we should join hands together.
“If we can ensure good governance, a lot of things would fall in place. It is not by fighting each other that we will catch up with the rest of the world.”
Follow The Eagle Online Channel on WhatsApp
