Bad elections can’t bring good governance, Onaiyekan says

The outgoing Metropolitan Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, has given a damning verdict on the 2019 General Elections.

He spoke Monday in Abuja, during the homily at the Opening Mass of the First Plenary of the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of Nigeria (CBCN).

Onaiyekan at the event themed: “Governance in Nigeria and the Common Good”, said those who claimed the elections were wonderful because it worked in their favour, should be reminded that bad elections cannot bring about good governance.

According to him, the massive boycott of last Saturday’s elections in many places could well be taking as a loud protest and vote of no confidence in a process that had destroyed their trust in the system.

“The government that had been declared re-elected must listen to the sound of murmurs and protest in the winds and take proactive steps to pull the nation together, even while the nation awaits the outcome of the legal challenge on course in the tribunals.

President of the CBCN, Archbishop Augustine Obiora Akubeze, congratulated President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on their electoral victory.

“We are pleased with the words of the President when he recognised the need for an inclusive government in his first remark after his victory. These words have to be translated into reality. Unity cannot be sustained in a country or society that institutionalized marginalization. An all-inclusive government is the first baby step towards good governance,” Akubeze said.