Fr. Matthew Hassan Kukah, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, has stated that the focus of Nigerians on the 2023 presidential election should not be on having a rerun to determine the winner.
The outspoken cleric stated that the focus should first be on how to conduct a successful, free, and fair election in order to usher in credible leaders.
Talks about a possible rerun in the 2023 election, he says, are just heating up the polity, which is not what Nigerians need.
Hopefully, and prayerfully, we will have another round of elections and our hope is that we will have elections that are free from violence, and free from manipulation. The process now is a little bit clearer from what we are hearing from INEC.
I think the biggest challenge for us now is that we have elections that are free, fair and credible and we are able to live the results that it produces.
Let us run first before we talk about re-rerun. We just hope that the elections will be free fair and credible, so a winner will emerge.
I don’t think we should begin to talk about the possibility of a rerun or whatever because we are just heating up the system. I think we should just assume that we are going to have an election and a winner will emerge, he said in an interview with Punch.
Nigeria Had Nothing To Celebrate In 2022
During the interview, Kukah also stated that Nigeria had accomplished nothing worth celebrating in 2022.
The Bishop lamented that the country’s situation has deteriorated, but that the future can be determined by making the right decision.
He said;
The incoming government is yet to come, but I think all Nigerians now have to look at themselves in the mirror and ask themselves if we are better off now than before.
As we are entering the new year, we must look at one of the greatest moments not only in world history but also as they pertain to Nigeria. I mean how many phases of our national life (in 2022) can we proudly want to remember with a lot of joy and celebration?
The people of Morocco, for instance, will look at how they beat Brazil in the World Cup. So it is left for Nigerians to ask how they feel about the year that has gone, but the future is now in our hands.