By Akpan David, Calabar
The Anglican Church has stated that in order to make Nigeria’s electoral body to be truly independent, a college composed of distinguishes religious and traditional chieftains should be saddled with the task of selecting chairmen of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in future.
This call was made when the Anglican Diocese of Calabar,, climaxed their 3-day 12th Synod of the Diocese, held at The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, Calabar, Calabar,
Addressing the large congregations of priests, senior citizens, traditional chiefs and other dignitaries, Rt. Rev. Prof. Nneoyi Onen Egbe, the Lord Bishop of the Diocese said the INEC chairman should no longer be a political appointee.
“Future INEC chairmen should henceforth emerge from a college to be made of religious and traditional leaders from across the nation.
“A presidential appointee INEC Chair will always be a stooge! As it stands today, most Nigerians are not expecting anything good from the planned 2027 elections”, he stressed.
He advised that merit and ability over every other criterion for recruitment in all sectors and positions should always be emphasized.
The church also called for the promotion of the rule of law and overhauling of the judiciary system on the lines of truth and justice.
The Lord Bishop further called on the National Judiciary Commission, NJC, to take steps to discipline errant judges and other category of legal offenders.
