Anthonia Duru
Ahead of the 2023 general elections, Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Most Rev. (Dr) Alfred Adewale Martins, has urged the Catholic faithful in the Lagos archdiocese to get their permanent voters’ cards (PVCs) ready.
Martins who made this appeal recently at the Holy Cross Cathedral in Lagos equally called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure that all eligible voters are able to vote, especially as it relates to people who may have moved locations.
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He stated that there was currently a disincentive for the electorate to cast their votes on the back of the socio-economic challenges both at the individual and national levels.
“Please let us do what is necessary to get our voters’ cards ready so that we can join and do what is necessary. Yes, we may not have the kind of Federal Republic that we have now. We want a new structure, but this is what we have now; I ask that we not allow anything to stop us from doing the needful as far as elections are concerned,” he said.
On leadership in the country, he decried the attitude of politicians who have abandoned governance for electioneering campaigns, “One thing that is clear now is that much of governance has been put on hold, because of the electioneering activities. We want to ask that even though politicians are supposed to go about their different activities, they should also ensure that governance does not suffer, and in any case in pursuing their electioneering campaign activities, let them be able to tell people the truth about the situation of things, and the situation of things, and then tell them how you intend to make the difference the people are looking for.
Because I believe the days should be gone when politicians make blanket promises, from the very moment they are making it you know that they do not even have an idea of what they intend to do, so our people need to interrogate politicians on how they intend to take care of the needs of our people, so that no one will be taken for a ride anymore,” he stated.
“There is a strong temptation for us to say that our past efforts at voting did not make our day-to-day lives better; so, why do we need to waste our time again? The temptation is to throw up our hands and surrender, but I urge you not to throw up your hands and surrender. Challenges to our national and individual lives should not stop us from making the due preparations to take part in the election that is to come,” Martins said.
Similarly, he urged the faithful to pray for the country and those in positions of authority just as he charged them to ask politicians vying for the 2023 general election pertinent questions about what they need to do and how they will take care of the country’s challenges.
“It is not enough to hear promises being made; it is also important to interrogate how exactly those promises would be fulfilled. I believe that all of these should be part of what we need to ensure that elections are fruitful for our nation, for our individual lives and for the future of our country,” he further said.