Kaigama said Christians will be doing their faith a great disservice by abstaining from voting during elections.
By Jeffrey Agbo
The Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama, has said that Nigerians are hoping the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) maintains fairness in the 2023 elections.
The cleric stated this at the 3rd Abuja Archdiocesan General Assembly (AAGA) with the theme: ‘Witness in politics: The role of the Catholic faithful.’
Kaigama said that the 2023 general elections should be about transparency, accountability and responsibility, urging Nigerians against seeing elections as a matter of ethnic and religious alliances.
The clergyman expressed sadness that the politics of bitterness, unhealthy personality clashes, manipulation among other issues has been deeply entrenched among the citizenry.
He said that the inability of the citizens to realise meaningful change in the nation’s socio-political and economic environment was as a result “of the culture of corruption and very poor governance, coupled with untamed political, religious and ethnic sentiments.”
Kaigama said, “To reverse this unfortunate trend, there is the need for a complete change in the ways we play politics. If the primary purpose of politicking is to win elections, then the justifiable end is to govern well.
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“The political parties should, therefore, be forthcoming on how best they are to address the issues bedeviling our polity such as: insecurity, deteriorating public health and education, the current inflationary trends resulting in high living conditions.
“We have lived for so long under politics which we had come to understand as: manipulation, exclusion, greed and graft.
“When it comes to exercising voting power, our lay faithful have the responsibility to vote wisely and seek to be voted into public service; serving in a Christ-like manner when elected.”
Kaigama said Christians will be doing their faith a great disservice by abstaining from voting during elections, adding that no one should complain about the government if they did not vote.
He said, “More than ever before, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) with the passage of the electoral bill, is promising to ensure transparency, probity and fairness. We hope they will keep to their word.”
Kaigama encouraged churches to always speak truth to power adding that: “A Church that will not speak truth to power is not a Church that can credibly proclaim Jesus Christ who is ‘the Way, the Truth, and the Life.'”