Catholic Bishops Ask National Assembly to Make Real-Time Election Results Transmission Mandatory
The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria has asked the National Assembly to urgently review its position on electoral reforms. The religious body wants the federal lawmakers to make the real-time transmission of election results mandatory.
Lucius Ugorji, the archbishop of Owerri and outgoing president of the conference, made this demand on Sunday. He spoke during the opening session of their first plenary meeting for the year 2026. The event took place at the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria in Abuja.
While speaking on the theme of leadership and the common good in Nigeria, Ugorji expressed deep worry over the continuous drop in voter turnout. He noted that voter participation has fallen heavily from 69 percent in the year 2003 to a record low of 23 percent 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,” Ugorji stated.
He advised federal lawmakers to end this negative trend by updating the Electoral Act. He said the new law must guarantee the mandatory transmission of results from the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System at polling units straight to the public result viewing portal.
Ugorji explained that this step is very important to prevent any human tampering with the expressed will of the voters. The cleric also pointed out a major contradiction in the actions of the lawmakers. He noted that the legislature recently passed the 2025 Tax Act, which forces citizens to use digital filing and record keeping.
However, he observed that the same lawmakers seem to reject digital transparency when it comes to 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 the elections, the president of the conference spoke about other serious national issues. He condemned the rising insecurity and senseless killings across the country, especially recent incidents in Kwara State.
He also complained about the severe economic damage caused by illegal mining. According to him, the illegal activity costs Nigeria about nine billion dollars every year.
During the event, Mike Omeri, a former director general of the National Orientation Agency, also delivered a speech. He challenged political leaders to practice servant leadership in order to reduce the wide gap between the rich and the poor in the country.
