By Uchenna Eletuo
The Holy Spirit Catholic Church Onireke, Ojo Lagos chapter of the Justice Peace and Development Commission (JPDC) on Tuesday conducted training for its members ahead of the 2023 general elections
The Commission, a civil arm of the mother Church, co-opts disciplined and able bodied persons to complement the state in areas their service are needed.
It also carries out other social works to foster peace in the society on voluntary basis.
The session drilled members on crowd control and security, to ensure a hitch free election within the area during the elections.
No fewer than 30 officers were trained during the session that began with a match parade at the parish.
The officers were trained on disarming of persons with weapon, crowd control through a barricade, protection of materials and personnel.
It was the third in the monthly series of the sessions that began in September, to be concluded a month before the election.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the commission has been partnering the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in previous elections for a seamless process.
Speaking at the training, the Commandant in charge of the programme, Mr MacAnthony Ezuruike, said the Church was ever ready to assist the state to achieve it’s set goals.
Ezuruike discribed election as an important development process of the country and charged the officers to conduct themselves well during the polls.
He decried the crisis at polls as witnessed in the previous elections, appealing to Nigerians to be civil in their conduct during future elections.
According to him, the training of the officers has put them in a vintage position to be of immense assistance to the process.
“We are not praying for rancor during the election but our men are ready to quell any such problem in order to make voters’ votes count.
“It is expected that the expression of the people at polls should be paramount in the leadership choice, therefore making it work should be everyone’s business.
“We have a good relationship with INEC that confidence is what we are out to maintain for a good Nigeria of our dream,” he said.(NAN)
