THE heads of the Catholic Church in Ondo and Ogun states have called on Nigerians to resist the temptation to trade their votes for peanuts in the forthcoming general elections.
The bishops who made the call at the 25th anniversary of the Canonical Erection of the Catholic Diocese of Abeokuta, on Thursday, January 26, also tasked Nigerians to shun every form of election violence.
Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Abeokuta, Peter Olukayode, expressed optimism and hope that Nigeria will come out better after the elections.
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“We pray that Nigeria will be better, we pray that all of us electing the right person to the right position, Nigeria will be better,” he said.
“We should go and perform our civic duties and vote rightly according to our consciences for good leaders who will lead Nigeria better and give us what we desire according to the mind and the will of God.”
On his part, the Catholic Bishop of Ondo Diocese, Jude Arogundade, called on Nigerians to reject candidates who according to him are “known criminals” that have been implicated by national and international agencies.
Arogundade urged Nigerians to vote for decent and credible leaders and save the country from imminent collapse.
He lamented that the impact of one hundred years of Christianity in the society had been eroded by bad governance, ethnic and tribal war and a new wave of paganism.
“Are we not the same Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa and indeed Nigerians that are calling on God for intervention and redemption from corrupt politicians that will also vote for known criminals that have been implicated by national and international watchdog bodies?
“All of us Christians and non-Christians alike are searching for decent and credible leaders who will reorganise our country to be the best that God has created it to be.
“Then vote for one and save the Church from the trauma of having to deal with the emotional outcome of leaders who continue to ravage our commonwealth for personal gains.”
He urged Nigerians not to stand by and watch “this great nation destroy itself under mediocre leadership that drifts from one crisis to the next, eroding our national will and purpose”.
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