The Nigerian electorate has been charged to look beyond political party lines in their voting for candidates in next year’s general election.
The admonition on the 2023 elections was given by the Christian Association of Nigeria, Ebonyi State chapter.
This was during its one day prayer summit/retreat for all political aspirants in Ebonyi State.
The event took place on Thursday at the Saint Paul’s Catholic Church, Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital.
Speaking at the event, the guest and Methodist Archbishop, Archdiocese of Enugu, Most Reverend Christopher Ede, charged Christian politicians to approach the forthcoming elections with diligence in order not to ruin the Christian faith by their choices.
Ede lamented prevalent evils going on across quarters in the country, including insecurity, and charged all electorates and political players to act in such a manner as to douse rather than aggravate the tensions.
He further charged all who love the country to look beyond political party loyalty and choose by the ballot only credible candidates with track record of performance.
He said: “My people, there is fire on the mountain, may we rise.
“There is evil everywhere.
“If you don’t wake up, before we close our eyes and open it, we may already become strangers in our own land.”
In a lecture titled: “The importance of peace and security in the electioneering process,” the South East Zonal CAN Chairman, Reverend Father Abraham Nwali, charged the candidates and all political actors to be peaceful in their approach to the elections to avoid threatening the peace of the state and the country in general.
Nwali, who is also the Ebonyi State CAN Chairman, strengthened the church’s commitment to praying for the country and her leadership at all times.
In an address, Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State, represented at the event by the Secretary to the State Government, Kenneth Ugbala, pledged his administration’s preparedness to provide level playing field for all political parties in the state to campaign and canvass for votes ahead of the elections.
The Governor appreciated CAN for organising the event, which, he noted, would go a long way in ensuring a hitch-free election in 2023.
While appreciating the flag bearers of the various political parties, who participated in the exercise, Umahi admonished them to play the game of politics with brotherly sense to avoid overheating the polity.
He said: “I want to remind you that we have no other State we can call our own except Ebonyi, so we have to work very hard to protect it.
“We assure you as a Government that we will provide a level playing ground for you all to conduct your activities.”
The retreat featured prayers for the nation, the political parties’ flag bearers and for peaceful conduct of 2023 elections.
The theme of the summit was: “Peaceful and smooth General Elections 2023.”