The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Bishop Matthew Kukah, on Wednesday called on political parties as well as their supporters to play by the rules in the coming Ekiti gubernatorial elections.
Kukah, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, made the call in Ekiti, three days before the commencement of the governorship election in the state.
According to him, the National Peace Committee which he is a convener is committed to the peaceful conduct of the state as the Ekiti people go to the polls on June 18.
He recalled that the committee was created in 2015 to douse the fear among Nigerians in the build-up to the general elections.
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“I am here on behalf of the Peace Committee largely to support INEC and encourage the key actors. Only the living can benefit from the processes of democracy,” he said.
“(We want to) ensure that people play the game according to the rules. We are here to extend the good voices of Nigerians and to let the people of Ekiti know that Nigerians are solidly behind them.”
Kukah commended the Ekiti people and the political stakeholders for conducting themselves in a peaceful manner so far.
He, however, stated that the political actors will be held responsible should any violence break out during the course of the election.
This is even as he expressed confidence in the ability of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a free and fair election.
“The actors themselves will have to live with the consequences of the violence they trigger if it is established that particular actors were responsible for a particular outcome.
“We have been on this for a very long time. What do you do? How do you penalise actors who seem to be involved in instigating violence during elections?” he added.
