The Catholic Archbishop of Abuja , Most Revd Ignatius Kaigama has appealed to Nigerians to remain calm despite provocative comments going round following the outcome of Feb 25th Presidential and National Assembly elections.
The Archbishop made the appeal on Sunday during his homily at St. Augustine Parish , Lugbe in Abuja.
His Grace said,”Let peace reign. May God protect Nigeria and all Nigerians. There are very hostile, inflammatory, and provocative statements going around. Do not be lured into losing your cool.
“Please, participate fully in the remaining elections on Saturday. God is still the God of all Nigerians.
“I urge you to keep hope alive. We concluded our presidential and National Assembly elections last Saturday. Many people turned out and enthusiastically voted, believing that the transparency promised would be guaranteed.
“When it did not happen in all cases, as many felt that the process was compromised, many wanted street protests, but thanks to the maturity of the top contenders who called all to order and obedience to the laws of the land, we have yet survived together again as against those predicting doom.
“We encouraged people to get registered, to obtain their voting cards, to go out and vote. They enthusiastically trooped out to vote but to their greatest chagrin, the process did not achieve the degree of transparency expected.
He tasked the judiciary to be impartial adding that, God is above watching how the court will perform.
“Despite all, remain calm and peaceful. Those not satisfied with the results are heading to the courts. Let the courts do their work with the greatest sense of justice. God above is watching how the courts; the hope of the common man/woman will perform.
“The Supreme Judge of the Ultimate Tribunal is waiting for those who dispense justice with a sense of fairness or do so with great personal bias or get compromised because ofsome material reasons. Let justice be done.
He added that,” Those who take over positions of leadership should only seek to add building blocks of cohesion and development rather than destroying past good legacies or to discontinue from them; to serve, and not to be served; to build and not to destroy; to bind and not to divide. For political leaders, there is no need to fight dirty, rig or manipulate elections if the desire is to genuinely serve the common good,”.
