A member of the Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal, Professor Epiphany Azinge, has tasked Churches to partner more with anti- corruption agencies to expose Nigerians with ill-gotten wealth.
He said those with illegal wealth using churches as avenues to protect their assets should no longer be covered up by churches.
The former Director General Nigeria Institute of Advanced Legal Studies spoke at the 8th Anthony Cardinal Okogie annual lecture/ foundation in Lagos last week.
Azinge, in his paper titled 2015 Elections: Implications dor Nigeria’s Democracy, said the time has come for churches in the country to strengthen the fight against corruption.
He said: “The church must sustain its role and must remain the voice of reason and the conscience of the nation.
“Our democracy therefore cannot blossom unless all agents of socialisation particularly the schools and churches are prepared to set standards for higher moral ideals.”
On the last general elections, Azinge commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for introduction of card readers and others that militated against rigging.
Azinge however noted that there are some areas in the part of the country where manipulation, rigging, hijack of ballot boxes prevailed.
The immediate past deputy governor of Delta State, Professor Amos Utuama, charged public officials to be transparent in their dealings.
He stated that he resisted pressures to divert public funds to personal projects while in office, charging others to follow suit.