EDE, September 15 — The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria has warned political leaders against manipulating the country’s 2027 general election, calling for free, fair and credible polls capable of restoring Nigerians’ confidence in the democratic process. The warning came from the CBCN President and Archbishop of Kaduna, Most Rev. Matthew Man-Oso Ndagoso, at the opening session of the conference’s Second Plenary Meeting at Our Lady and St. Kizito’s Pastoral Centre, Oke-Gada, Ede, in Osun State.
The plenary opened on September 10 and is scheduled to run until September 18. Archbishop Ndagoso said the 2027 election presented another opportunity for Nigeria to strengthen its democracy and restore public confidence in the electoral process.
He described politics as a noble profession when practised in the service of the common good, and urged elected and appointed public officials to ensure the electoral environment remained fair and inclusive. Political office holders, he said, including the President, governors, National Assembly members, ministers and local government chairmen, had a responsibility to ensure that the rules of the democratic process were respected by all. Conducting credible elections was within the capacity of Nigerians and should not be treated as an impossible task, he added.
The CBCN President noted that Nigerians were only a few months away from the 2027 general election and that political campaigns had already commenced across the country. Political activities, he observed, would soon take over stadia, event centres, school fields, hotels and other public spaces as politicians intensified their efforts to secure votes.
The bishops also urged eligible voters to reject vote-buying and selling, resist political cronyism and refuse to allow themselves to be used as political thugs by desperate politicians during the forthcoming elections. At the opening of the plenary, Archbishop Ndagoso welcomed Governor Ademola Adeleke and other government officials to the gathering. He congratulated Adeleke on his re-election as Osun State Governor and commended the other contestants in the governorship election.
The CBCN President urged all political actors in the state to unite after the election and focus on delivering the dividends of democracy to the people. Separately, a former Ekiti State governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, urged Nigerians to make competence, integrity and commitment to the common good the basis of their choices in the 2027 general election. The CBCN is the umbrella body of Catholic bishops in Nigeria, and its plenary meetings serve as a platform for the Church to weigh in on national issues.
The plenary brought together Catholic bishops, the Apostolic Nuncio to Nigeria, clergy, consecrated men and women, lay faithful and other Church leaders to deliberate on issues affecting the Church and Nigerian society. Nigeria’s 2027 general election is expected to be a major test of the country’s electoral system, following previous contests marked by allegations of vote-buying and violence.
The bishops’ intervention places the Church squarely in that debate well before the campaigns reach full pitch. What to watch next is whether the conference’s closing sessions on September 18 produce a formal statement, and whether the political class treats the warning as anything more than a seasonal ritual.
