The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has called on the National Assembly to urgently review its stance on electoral reforms, advocating for the mandatory real-time transmission of results.
The conference stressed the need to restore dwindling citizens’ trust in the nation’s democracy.
Most Rev. Lucius Ugorji, the Archbishop of Owerri and outgoing President of the CBCN, made the call at the opening session of the 2026 First Plenary Meeting at the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria on Sunday in Abuja.
While speaking on the theme, “The Common Good and Leadership in Nigeria,” Ugorji expressed grave concern over the steady decline in voter turnout.
He noted that voter turnout has plummeted from 69 per cent in 2003 to a record low of 23 per cent 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.
To arrest this “downward trend,” Ugorji urged the Federal lawmakers to ensure the Electoral Act provides for the mandatory transmission of results from the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) at polling units directly to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal.
He noted that such a move was essential to “prevent any human tampering with the expressed will of the electorate.”
The cleric further took a swipe at the National Assembly for what he described as “inconsistent positions” regarding technology and transparency.
He pointed out that while the legislature passed the 2025 Tax Act, which mandated digital filing and record-keeping, it appeared to “water down” the people’s will regarding digital transparency in elections.
”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 matters, the CBCN President highlighted the “senseless massacres” and rising insecurity across the country, citing the recent killing of over 200 persons in Kwara State.
He also lamented the economic sabotage caused by illegal mining, which reportedly costs Nigeria approximately nine billion dollars annually.
