Catholic Bishops Warn Against Flawed Elections, Bad Governance

The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has warned that the federation is teetering connected the brink of illness owed to systemic corruption, atrocious governance and profoundly flawed elections, portion besides acknowledging immoderate affirmative changes nether the existent administration.

The bishops, aft concluding their 2nd plenary gathering successful Ikot Ekpene, presented a communiqué that served arsenic some a critique of the nation’s ills and a roadmap for salvation, placing urgent electoral reforms astatine the forefront of their demands.

The communiqué jointly signed by the president of CBCN, Archbishop Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji of Owerri and the secretary, Bishop Donatus Ogun of Uromi, identified persistent electoral flaws including violence, elector suppression and declaration of fake results arsenic the superior causes of wide elector apathy, and demanded a cardinal overhaul.

“In bid to radically trim electoral malpractice successful Nigeria, we telephone for much robust and broad electoral reforms that should not lone guarantee an physics transmission of results from the polling units, but besides their physics collation successful existent time.

“Transparent and unbiased assignment of the main officers of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) who are to beryllium non-partisan and persons of unquestionable integrity. The activities of galore of those truthful acold appointed autumn beneath expectation,” they said.

This, the bishops argued, necessitates amending applicable laws to fortify the independency and credibility of INEC and support it from interference.

They besides urged the judiciary to unrecorded supra committee successful electoral matters arsenic it is indispensable for the attraction of societal stableness successful our nation.

While commending the authorities for immoderate affirmative changes similar roadworthy projects, the caller minimum wage and caller taxation reforms, the bishops nevertheless painted a grim representation of the realities facing mean Nigerians.

They expressed interest that citizens person continued to endure nether utmost poorness and economical hardships and look abandoned to a beingness of destitution and penury, and that insecurity continues unabated, forcing citizens to fly their homes and livelihoods.

The communiqué highlighted captious sectors successful a authorities of decay, citing an inadequate wellness installation starring to a wide exodus of professionals and precocious complaint of aesculapian tourism by our leaders.

It lamented that portion billions of naira was spent overseas, millions of Nigerians languish and dice astatine location from curable illnesses.

The aforesaid situation of backing and infrastructure was noted successful acquisition and the vigor sector, which suffers from regular powerfulness outage.

The bishops identified the basal of each these problems arsenic “corruption and atrocious governance,” which they described arsenic a “deadly cancer” destroying the nation’s fabric.

They issued a crisp rebuke to the governmental class, accusing them of being much preoccupied with securing and retaining powerfulness and perfecting strategies to grasp powerfulness successful 2027 than with governing for the communal good.

“This calls for the amendment of the applicable laws to fortify the independency and credibility of INEC and support it from interference,” the communique stated.

The bishops observed a unsafe inclination towards a one-party state, informing that specified a improvement is not a bully omen for democracy.

In the look of this, the CBCN resolved to intensify the governmental acquisition of the laic faithful to alteration nine with Christian principles, making a nonstop entreaty to each Nigerians of voting age.

“We promote each adults to get their imperishable voter’s cards acceptable and ballot astatine wide elections successful accordance with their informed conscience.

“We powerfully counsel our citizens not to let themselves to beryllium influenced by bribes, oregon swayed by committedness of instant gratification, intimidation, oregon ethno-religious considerations during elections,” they stated.