By PJ Usanga
In a communique issued at the 15th annual National Conference of the Association of Papal Knights and Medalists in Nigeria (APKMN), and signed by the National President, Rt. Hon. Dame Esther Uduehi and Secretary, Vrenzak James Dawap, the Papal honorees and awardees, sued for the protection of the rights, and security of lives and properties of every Nigerian, irrespective of tribal affinity religious creed or political orientation.
According to the resolutions made public at the end of the conference held at St. Louis Catholic Church, Bompai, Kano from Thursday, November 16, to Sunday, November 19, the document pointedly stated that Nigerian politics is in most cases monetised, rigged and characterised by falsified results, and called on its members to urgently get involve in politics so as to sanitize the system and uphold the rule of rule, which has been grossly abused in the country currently.
“Nigerian politics is monetize in some cases. Elections are rigged and results falsified. Desperate politicians are ready to do anything to win power. As a result, we see reign of unpopular candidates imposed on the electorates and very horrific and terrible situations where lots of families are thrown into anguish, with politically motivated assassinations. It will be fatal and catastrophic for us to overlook the urgency of the moment.”
Expressing confidence that democracy will win and all will enjoy the dividend only if they fight for it, APKMN through the communique propose the need to force the hands of the political leaders to conform to global standards.
“Our leaders should be made to be accountable and transparent and ensure that resources are used for the benefit of the people. Inclusiveness and equality should be promoted by our leaders, ensuring a right of place for every citizen to have a sense of belonging and their aspirations not limited by ethnicity, gender, religious and social class issues.”
As part of the activities during the conference, was the conduct of elections for new officers and functionaries to pilot the affairs of the association for the next service tenure. The elections saw the emergence of Sir Steve Adehi SAN, KSS, KCSS as the new National President, alongside eleven other members for the new national executive body.