By Francis Onyeukwu
Awka – Ahead of Saturday’s Governorship and House of Assembly elections, Spiritual Director, Holy Ghost Adoration Ministry, Uke, Anambra, Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Obimma, has advised youths against electoral violence. Obimma, popularly known as “Ebubemonso” gave the advice in a sermon to mark the beginning of the Month of March in 2019 anointing service at the Blessed Iwene Tansi Catholic Church, Umudioka on Sunday. Obinma said in a statement by the Media Consultant to the Holy Ghost Adoration Ministry, Mr Emeka Odogwu, on Monday in Awka, that he frowned at the reported killings that characterised the Feb. 23 Presidential and National Assembly polls. He appealed to Nigerians to vote and not fight during Saturday’s election. The clergyman warned voters not to engage in any form of electoral offence but to ensure that the process of electing new leaders was hitch-free. He encouraged the electorate to come out en mase to vote a candidate of their choice, stating that 35 deaths reported as the number killed during Presidential/NASS polls was too much. “We recorded 12 deaths during the 2015 elections in the country and just on Feb. 23, 2019, reports from the Civil Liberties Organisation showed that 35 persons were killed on that day,” he said. Obimma said that Nigerians should take the next Governorship and House of Assembly elections as a brotherly contest and not a war. “We should use our votes and not guns because this isn’t war. Don’t be an object of violence but embrace orderliness and peace. “I encourage the candidates to be mindful of their language during campaigns and they should shun campaigns that involve religious incitement and ethnicity ,” he said. Obimma also appealed to traditional rulers, market leaders and political party leaders to ensure their wards took to the path of peace during the election. He condemned the killings in Kaduna and urged Government to intervene and stop the careless waste of human lives across Nigeria. (NAN)
