The Catholic Bishop of Awka Diocese, Anambra State, Most Rev. Paulinus Ezeokafor, has described vote buying as a sin that demands confession and restitution by culprits.

Addressing journalists at the St. Patricks Cathedral Church, Awka, during his Christmas message, the bishop urged the electorate to be crusaders of curbing the trend which is gradually gaining ground.

Said he: “The electorate must use the 2019 general elections to rewrite the electoral history of Nigeria and that can be achieved if they decide to do the right thing by electing credible leaders.

“The act of vote buying is a sin in the eleventh commandment. Those who engage in it lack conscience and must go for confession.

“Vote buying is a sin and form of bribery. Both those that sell their votes and those that buy are guilty of the same crime.”

While calling on the church to preach against the vices, the bishop asked the electorate not to allow themselves to be induced with financial inducement but rather, insist on voting according to their consciences.

Ezeokafor further called for peace insisting that unity should be paramount to the people instead of unnecessary attacks from different quarters as 2019 draws close.

According to him, leadership had been a big challenge in Nigeria noting that the challenge could be eliminated if the right leaders are allowed to take over the leadership of the nation.

The bishop urged government officials to work towards approving the new minimum wage so as to improve the welfare of the workers.

He advocated for the reduction of jumbo packages earned by lawmakers as a measure to address the poor remuneration of workers even as he described the cost of running a government in the nation as outrageous.

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