AFRICA/NIGERIA - "Do not stop those who want to peacefully change the Country, otherwise violent changes will be inevitable"

Abuja (Agenzia Fides) - "Citizens' confidence in the electoral process was seriously undermined during the last parliamentary elections by unfair practices, fraud, and alleged electoral errors," said the President of the Nigerian Bishops' Conference (CBCN), Archbishop Lucius Ugorji of Owerri, during a meeting with lay people from the Ecclesiastical Province of Calabar.
"While the country faces serious existential threats, several politicians at the national and state levels appear more concerned about the 2027 parliamentary elections than about fulfilling their campaign promises," Archbishop Ugorji stated.
The President of the Bishops' Conference also criticized the manner in which the 2023 elections were conducted, particularly by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which he described as a body influenced by political appointments.
"Most appointments to the electoral body currently cannot be considered either impartial or independent," he explained. "This requires a constitutional amendment to strengthen the independence and credibility of the Electoral Commission and protect it from political manipulation."
The Archbishop therefore emphasized that "fundamental reforms are necessary to preserve social stability" and warned that "those who seek to obstruct these changes through peaceful means are making violent change inevitable." Archbishop Ugorji emphasized that insecurity already prevails in large parts of Nigeria. "Insecurity continues to haunt us," he said. "Many towns and villages across the country have become communities living in fear, where people are forced to flee and hold funerals." "Our fellow citizens are kidnapped, extorted, dehumanized, killed, or forced daily to flee their ancestral communities, abandon their livelihoods, and seek refuge in makeshift camps, exposed to extreme weather conditions and often without food or water," he laments. Insecurity, in turn, leads to poverty and unemployment, "which drive young people to crime, emigration, and despair." The Archbishop of Owerri cited the death of former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on July 13 in a London hospital as an example to highlight the discrepancy between the treatment of the government elite, who can afford "health tourism," and the majority of the population, who lack access to basic medical services. The President of the Nigerian Bishops' Conference concluded by urging lay believers to engage in politics, but stressed the need for them to receive adequate training: "We expect a lot from lay people in the context of national transformation, but they must be given a great deal of political education." (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 15/9/2025)

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