The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria has called for free and fair elections in Nigeria, warning political leaders not to manipulate the system ahead of future polls.
In a communiqué issued after their plenary meeting in Abuja, the bishops said, “Responsible citizenship is a virtue, and participation in political life is a moral obligation.”
They stressed that leadership must focus on the “Common Good” and not on “selfish and sectional interests.”
The bishops warned that “a major cause of our problem as a nation is poor leadership and the wrong idea of politics.”
They said politics should not be about “rigging of elections and stealing of other people’s mandate.”
They accused some governments in power of trying to win “at all costs, including the misuse and manipulation of state institutions, such as the INEC, the security agencies and the judiciary.”
The bishops listed common electoral problems, including “vote buying, artificial scarcity of electoral materials, the use of thugs and intimidation, falsification of election results and so on.”
They said these actions “undermine the confidence of the citizens in the electoral process.”
They also raised concern about low voter turnout.
According to INEC data cited in the communiqué, only 23% of registered voters voted in the 2023 general elections, while the recent FCT elections recorded just 7%.
To rebuild trust, the bishops demanded that the National Assembly ensure “mandatory transmission of election results in real-time” from polling units to prevent interference.
They urged Nigerians to “come out en masse, vote, and ensure that their votes count.”
