General elections: CBCN tasks FG on reforms to address inadequacies

The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has called on the Federal government to acknowledge the inadequacies that characterized the 2019 elections and embark on a course to redress the anomalies.

In a communique read at the end if its first 2019 CBNC plenary yesterday evening in Abuja, its president, Most Rev. Augustine Obiora Akubeze urged government to enact, endorse and implement laws and policies that will ensure free, fair and credible elections in the future. He noted that elections are an opportunity for people through the ballot to freely choose those who will serve them and condemned the incident of loss of lives and destruction of property, which is ongoing.

Akabeze observed that one of the reported phenomena during the elections was the crude and reckless use of money to buy votes; showing how desperate politicians and political parties are determined to get political power. He stressed that the voter apathy that characterized the subsequent Governorship and State Houses of Assembly Elections may not have been unconnected with among other things, the violence, malpractice and the unnecessary militarization of the process, all of which contributed to eroding the people’s confidence in the electoral process.

Towards a new political culture, he enjoined Nigerians, leaders and the led, to abide by democratic principles such as respect for human life, human rights and the rule of law and appealed to the electorate to ensure that those who hold public offices in our country are held accountable.

On Kaduna killings, Akabeze said they are pained that the culture of death is becoming embedded into our daily lives and appealed to government at all levels to take steps to arrest the situation before it consumes the entire nation.