SW News: The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has already urged voters not to place their confidence in anyone with a faulty character ahead of the 2023 general elections that would usher in a new set of leaders for the country, including a new president.

On Thursday, February 16, after their first plenary meeting of 2023 at the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria in Abuja, a statement was issued in which the bishops urged the people of Nigeria to reject "evil" and vote instead for "capable" candidates.

Archbishop Lucius Ugorji, President of the CBCN, and Bishop Donatus Ogun, Secretary of the CBCN, said in a joint statement that politicians with bad motives could not have good intentions for the people and the development of the country. The prelates have asked the Independent National Election Commission (INEC) to use cutting-edge accreditation, transmission, and collation technologies to reduce the likelihood of fake results.

For the sake of a better Nigeria, the statement continues, "We urge all eligible people to come out in mass to vote for God-fearing, honest, dynamic, and transparent leaders."

The bishops urged the youth to remain peaceful and not be recruited as thugs or agents of violence before, during, or after the elections. Vote buying and selling, the bishops said, weaken the will of the people. "Urging all politicians and the electorate to quit this unlawful and immoral behavior and embrace the concepts of human dignity, honesty, and decency," they said, adding that it is necessary for free, fair, and credible elections.

The CBCN also stressed how important the legal system was by calling it "the last hope of the average man" and telling all judges and lawyers to think of themselves as priests in the temple of truth and justice.