2023 Presidency: Catholic Bishops Tell Nigerians Who To Vote For

The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), has admonished Nigerians on who to vote for in the coming 2023 general elections, Naija News reports.

The Christian clergymen said Nigerians should vote for people who possess the capacity to make Nigeria into an industrial hub for Africa.

Having lamented poor voter turnouts in previous elections, the bishops called on citizens to come out en masse during the 2023 polls to vote for people who can make Nigeria a land of opportunity for all.

The CBCN said Nigerians must resist the temptation of falling into a divisive political campaign, stressing the need to vote into power people who can make the nation’s dreams come to life.

Naija News reports that the Bishops urged Nigerians to use competence as the yardstick to choose a new President for the nation in 2023.

The admonitions were made during the opening of the organisation’s first plenary in 2022, held in Abuja.

In his remark at the event, the President of CBCN, Archbishop Augustine Akubeze, said Nigerians have been getting the kind of they deserve.

According to him, this is because only a few citizens do vote, and hence those who do not vote have already voted to by allowing a few to determine the future of the majority.

Akubeze called on all Nigerians to get their Permanent Voter’s Card, and get ready to vote according to their personal conviction of who is capable of leading Nigeria to a better life.

He added, “Vote for people who possess the capacity to make Nigeria into an industrial hub for Africa. Vote for people who can make Nigeria a land of opportunity for all. Vote for people who can make our dreams come to life. Nigerians must resist the temptation of falling into a divisive political campaign.”

On his part, Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of the Catholic Diocese of Abuja lamented that Nigerian leaders were not ready to die for the masses.

According to him, Nigerians are yet to find leaders who are prepared to die for their nation, as in the case of the late President of Chad, Idriss Deby, who died leading his people in battle, or recently, like the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is courageously leading his people and stoutly defending the territorial integrity of his nation by an invading hostile power.

A former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Kanu Agabi who also expressed worry about the state of the country, listed measures that should be put in place, including stopping the appointment of wrong people in positions, strict enforcement of laws and examining the structure of the States to make the country better.

He advised that Nigerians must stop appointing unqualified people into high offices, saying that there is an urgent need to examine the structure of the States.

The States, as presently constituted, he added, are easily open to manipulation and exploitation by one man – particularly since all executive power is vested in one man under the constitution.