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●Demand credible 2027 polls
From Fred Itua, Abuja
The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CNBC), has again raised the alarm over worsening insecurity and bad governance in the country, warning that both threats continue to undermine the dignity of citizens ahead of next year’s general elections.
The bishops made the call in a communique issued at the end of their Second Plenary Meeting, held at the Our Lady and St Kizito Pastoral Centre in Oke Gada, Ede, Osogbo Diocese, Osun State, from 10 to 18 September.
The communique was signed by the President of the Conference, Archbishop Matthew Man Oso Ndagoso of Kaduna, and the Secretary, Bishop Peter Olukayode Odetoyinbo of Abeokuta Diocese.
The bishops lamented that insecurity, poverty, poor infrastructure, bad governance and assault on human dignity have continued to ravage the country despite its abundant human and natural resources.
On insecurity specifically, they condemned the continued invasion of schools and places of worship, as well as the abduction and killing of students and worshippers. They noted with concern that banditry, kidnapping, illegal mining and the theft of natural resources persist across the country, robbing citizens of peace and threatening national unity.
While acknowledging the federal government’s move to decentralise the police system, the bishops insisted that any reorganisation must serve the common good rather than personal, ethnic, political or religious interests. They also drew attention to the plight of millions of Nigerians still living in internally displaced persons camps, and called for stronger efforts to help them return to their ancestral homes.
On bad governance, the Conference urged government at all levels to drastically reduce poverty, pain and suffering, describing poverty as a despicable instrument of control that leaves many families struggling to survive despite the nation’s wealth.
The bishops also criticised failing public infrastructure, citing bad roads, erratic power supply and poor utilities, and demanded transparent investment in public amenities and nationwide railway transport.
The latest communique builds on concerns the bishops raised directly with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during a July 28 meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, where a CBCN delegation gave the President what members described as a candid assessment of the country’s economic, security and political challenges.
Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, later disclosed on Arise Television that Tinubu had rejected the bishops’ account, insisting the economy was performing well and disagreeing with their reading of the security situation.
Onaiyekan also cautioned at the time that the government appeared determined to win the 2027 election by all available means, warning that this could undermine the credibility of the vote regardless of how the polls were conducted.
The September communique returned pointedly to that same concern. Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the bishops called on all stakeholders to work for free, fair and credible polls, and urged eligible voters to come out en masse to elect qualified leaders in line with their conscience.
The Conference announced that all dioceses and parishes would embark on civic education, mobilisation and end of month fasting and prayer with rosary processions from October to December, and declared 8 December a special national day of prayer and fasting for the success of the elections.
The bishops did not renew the sharper language used by Onaiyekan in July, but the timing and substance of the September communique, issued barely six weeks after the bishops’ tense encounter with the President, suggest the Conference’s concerns about the direction of governance and the integrity of next year’s election remain unresolved.
