Editor: Chinwe Mamah
President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, Most Rev. Matthew Ndagoso has urged
Nigerians to reject vote-buying and vote-selling ahead of the 2027 general elections, warning that such practices undermine the credibility of democracy.
Bishop Ndagoso who is also the Archbishop of Kaduna Catholic Diocese gave the warning in Osogbo, Osun State, while addressing the opening session of the second plenary meeting of the CBCN, hosted by the Catholic Diocese of Osogbo.
The cleric also called on the Independent National Electoral Commission to ensure that the 2027 elections are free, fair, transparent and credible, noting that growing distrust in the electoral process could discourage Nigerians from participating.
He said anything short of credible elections in 2027 would be a serious disservice to the country, stressing the need to make voters’ cards easily accessible to all eligible Nigerians and remove obstacles that could prevent citizens from voting.
Bishop Ndagoso urged Catholic faithful and all Nigerians of goodwill to reject both the buying and selling of votes, as well as political cronyism and cynicism.
He further appealed to the political class to place the national interest above personal and partisan considerations.
