The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Most Rev. Dr Alfred Adewale Martins, has implored eligible Nigerians to see the forthcoming national elections as ample opportunities to elect into governance, only competent, credible and God-fearing leaders capable of entrenching good governance in the polity.

In his New Year message made available through the Director of Social Communications, Msgr Gabriel Osu, Archbishop Martins also admonished Nigerians not to sit by the fence any longer concerning issues of governance but to become active players in order to make meaningful input in determining the quality of their future destinies and those of their children.

Archbishop Martins encouraged the electorate to better appreciate the power of their PVCs, describing them as their passports to a better future. As such, he urged them to guide them jealously and with due diligence, not allowing their consciences to be bought over by desperate politicians who are desirous only of perpetrating their selfish interests and those of their families and cronies.

READ ALSO Ex-minister, Ewuga, dumps PDP, joins APC

“In this New Year, our message to Nigerians is that of hope for a better country. But this can only be achievable if every eligible voter utilises their PVCs rightly to elect only God-fearing and credible leaders who will serve the interests of Nigerians and not their own primordial interests.

Related News

“We are therefore, appealing to Nigerians to see the forthcoming national elections as a wake-up call to do the needful by making their votes count. It is by so doing that we can collectively, as a first step, work towards entrenching good governance and better quality of lives for all Nigerians.”

Looking back at the year 2018, Archbishop Martins said it had been one characterised majorly by insecurity and lackluster performance of economic indicators, culminating in reduced quality of living by majority of Nigerians.

“The year 2018 has truly not lived up to expectations for majority of Nigerians owing to gross insecurity across the country and less-than-average performance of the economy. The results of these have been increased insecurity, unnecessarily killings, unemployment, incessant strike actions and lower quality of lives for the masses. We believe most of these are caused by human negligence without the enforcement of appropriate penalties by the law enforcement agencies against those found wanting. We believe all these can better be addressed if the law enforcers can work more dispassionately; those saddled with the task of governance should be more alive to their responsibilities and for the masses to hold their leaders truly accountable for their lapses.”

The prelate encouraged Nigerians not to allow the challenges they experienced in the year 2018 to weigh down heavily on them, but to put their trust in the Almighty God who alone has the answers to all of life’s problems, including those plaguing the country.

Archbishop Martins, while advising the political class to desist forthwith from embarking on actions capable of fueling violence ahead of the forthcoming elections, cautioned parents not to allow their children and wards to be used as political thugs before, during and after the elections.