By Cos-lewis Osigbemhe
The Catholic Church has restated its position that it will remain apolitical and won’t throw its weight behind any candidate vying for any political office in 2023, especially the office of the president.
Nevertheless, it said it would continue to encourage Christians, particularly the Catholic faithful, to develop more interest in politics and fully participate in the process, so that they could be part of choosing their leaders. Secretary General, Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN), Very Rev. Fr. Zachariah Samjumi, who reaffirmed the position of the Catholic Secretariat at a media parley in Abuja, on Friday, frowned at the impression that politics is dirty and should be left for dirty people is wrong and should be corrected.
He said: “That impression is very wrong and should be corrected. We need to start getting people to know that politics is not a ‘dirty’ game, neither is it a ‘do or die’ affair as had been believed over the years. We always use every available opportunity to encourage our people to go into politics, cleanse the system, and thereafter participate in the process of choosing political leaders.
“Joining people that believe that politics is a ‘dirty’ game and abandoning the process is a disastrous decision for individuals and the church. It means that ‘dirty’ people would take advantage of the vacuum to occupy the offices and start taking decision for me and you that claimed to be ‘clean’ and educated. “As the general elections fast approach, many people have solicited the official support of the Catholic Church for their political ambition, but we often pray for them and wish them well in their political journey. That has been our position.”
