The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has called on the National Assembly to urgently revisit electoral reforms, particularly the mandatory real-time transmission of election results.
The appeal was made on Sunday by the Archbishop of Owerri and outgoing CBCN President, Lucius Ugorji, during the opening of the 2026 first plenary meeting held at the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria in Abuja.
Speaking on the theme, “The Common Good and Leadership in Nigeria,” Ugorji expressed concern over declining voter participation, noting that turnout had fallen dramatically from 69 percent in 2003 to 23 percent in 2023.
“This decline says a lot about citizens’ trust in the electoral process and calls into question the legitimacy of elected officials in a democratic dispensation with the mandate of an ever-decreasing minority,” he said.Ugorji urged lawmakers to amend the Electoral Act to clearly mandate real-time transmission of results from the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) at polling units directly to the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) Result Viewing (IReV) portal.
He stressed that such a measure would help “prevent any human tampering with the expressed will of the electorate.”
The cleric also criticised what he described as inconsistency in legislative priorities. While acknowledging the passage of the 2025 Tax Act mandating digital filing and record-keeping, he argued that similar digital transparency should not be weakened in the electoral process.
“The honourable members of the NASS should not allow themselves to be perceived as talking out of both sides of the mouth. The world is watching! Above all, God is also watching,” he warned.Beyond electoral reforms, Ugorji lamented rising insecurity across the country, describing recent killings in parts of Nigeria, including Kwara State, as “senseless massacres.”
He also highlighted the economic consequences of illegal mining, which he said costs the country an estimated $9 billion annually.
At the event, former Director-General of the National Orientation Agency and chairman of the occasion, Mike Omeri, urged political leaders to embrace “servant leadership” to bridge the growing gap between rich and poor and advance the common good.
