Nigerian Catholic cardinal, John Onaiyekan has re-visited the country’s February and March general elections with a call for those entrusted with the filed petitions to quicken their work.
The cardinal and former Archbishop of Abuja archdiocese urged those entrusted with the filed petitions to ensure the work is fast carried out.
The elections were reportedly said to have witnessed several malpractices, among them vote-buying, violence and intimidation.
Reported irregularities included those linked with the presidential election.
“We need indeed to work hard for unity in our nation. The election tribunals should complete their assignments as soon as possible so that the nation can start to regain its unity and common action, without which our grievous challenges cannot be properly addressed,” said the Nigerian catholic cardinal.
“It is our duty as Christian Church to work and pray all the time for peace and unity of our nation, irrespective of political divisions, ethnic identities or social dislocations.
“We all know what our problems are, we even know what to do but we don’t want to do it, we are very often, we don’t want to admit our problems, and that is the biggest problem,” he underlined.
Meanwhile Cardinal Onaiyekan has added that the current sitting “government” is temporary until all filed petitions are heard and a judicial decision is reached.
“Until then, Mr Tinubu remains the country’s interim president,” Cardinal Onaiyekan said in a July 29 Nigeria Catholic Network (NCN) report.
Current President Bola Ahmed Tunubu was on 29 May sworn-in as the country’s head of State.
Cardinal Onaiyekan said, “It is my position that a president sworn in under our present circumstances is, at best, holding office in a temporary capacity until his status is confirmed.”
Catholic bishops in the country had earlier on expressed their concern over the same issue, whereby they had in a report said that the elections were marred by several malpractices in their recent report.
Loading ...
