• Decries worsening insecurity

The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has urged the National Assembly to ensure that the Electoral Act provides for the mandatory transmission of the election results in real-time to prevent any human tampering with the expressed will of the electorate.

President of CBCN and the Catholic Archbishop of Owerri, Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji who made the call at the opening Session of the 2026 First Plenary Meeting in Abuja, noted that real-time transmission of election results will promote free, fair and credible general elections in the country and restore the confidence of Nigerians in the electoral process.

Insisting that this is the will of the people and has to be respected, Ugorji stated that in passing a Bill that is a water-down version of the peoples’ will and which creates room for the manipulation of electoral results, the NASS should recall that it had earlier passed the 2025 Tax Bill that demands digital filing, record-keeping and payments across the country.

He said, “The honourable members of the NASS should not allow themselves to be perceived as talking out of both sides of the mouth, expressing inconsistent and contradictory positions in the process of passing bills. The world is watching! Above all, God is also watching”.

Ugorji stated that the process of electing political leaders in Nigeria has over the years been undermined by gross irregularities which strongly affect the confidence of Nigerians in the electoral process and have led to the steady decline of voters’ turnout during general elections.

He said, “In 2003 the turnout was 69% of registered voters, in 2007 57%, in 2011 54%, in 2015 43.65%, in 2019 35.66% and in 2023 it dropped to 23%. 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 of citizens of voting age. If this downward trend in voters’ turnout during general elections continues, it will inflict a disastrous blow to democracy in Nigeria”.

He urged Nigerians to cooperate and work together to elect leaders who understand that the goal of political leadership is not self-enrichment but commitment to the common good.

Ugorji expressed fears that the Nigeria’s 2025 Tax Act which took effect on 1 January 2026 could raise the living cost for consumers, aggravate hardship and push more jobless youths into criminality.

He stated that though the tax reform was designed to overhaul the fiscal system by consolidating laws, simplifying compliance and promoting economic growth, the tax reforms face huge challenges and concerns, including potential burdens on small businesses that have to adapt to new regulations and compliance costs.

Ugorji noted that while the Act Is foreseen to offer benefits such as reduced taxes for low-income earners/SMEs, VAT relief on essentials (food, education, medicine), digital processes, and incentives for businesses, the reforms have also to come to terms with implementation hurdles, administrative inefficiencies and the need for robust taxpayer education to ensure success.

The CBCN President expressed concern over the rising Security Challenges in the country , lamented that gunmen operate boldly, freely and unchallenged and exploit the longstanding intelligence, operational and capacity deficiencies of the national security architecture to wreck havoc on defenceless communities adding that with threats of killing their captives, they demand huge ransoms and even brazenly brandish on social media the ransom they have collected without disguising themselves, yet, they are not arrested through their digital footprints.

Ugorji observed that with the designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) and airstrikes against an ISIS group in Sokoto on Christmas Day by the US government, the eyes of the world have turned to Nigeria and its rising security challenges.

He argued that in order to effectively tackle insecurity, government must go beyond declaring a national emergency on security and reactive interventions to invest more in modern technological equipment for surveillance; strengthen the intelligence and technological capacities of security agents to enable them act proactively in detecting and preventing terrorist attacks.

Ugorji stated that the largely reactive or rather counter-attack approach has not been very effective in protecting vulnerable communities, adding that government has to ensure that perpetrators of insurgency, banditry or kidnapping and their sponsors are swiftly arrested, prosecuted and held accountable under the law to deter others.

He emphasized that delaying the prosecution of arrested terrorists or pardoning and reintegrating perceived “repentant Boko Haram members” through the “Operation Safe Corridor” gives the impression of complicity on the side of government.

The CBCN President who also spoke on Illegal Mining, national Economic Sabotage and Source of Terrorists Funding, observed that despite Nigeria’s Mineral and Mining Act 2007, which vests ownership of all mineral resources in the country to the Federal Government and regulates exploration and exploitation of resources, Nigeria continues to lose about $9 billion annually to illegal mining which is strongly linked to the rise and sustenance of banditry, kidnapping and other organised crimes, particularly in Zamfara, Kaduna, Kebbi, Katsina, Sokoto, Niger, Kwara, Benue and Osun States.

He noted that criminal groups use proceeds from the sale of minerals, such as gold and lithium, to buy weapons and fund terrorist activities across the country adding that foreign nationals, especially Chinese, in collaboration with criminal networks exploit weak regulations and enforcement to participate in illegal mining and cart away our national wealth, while citizens watch with seeming helplessness.

Ugorji stated that given the large-scale fuelling of insecurity, economic sabotage and environmental degradation linked to illegal mining, government should devise a more aggressive approach in combating illegal mining across the country.

In his remarks, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, (SGF) , Senator George Akume who highlighted Nigeria’s current socio-economic and security challenges, said the nation stands at a defining moment in its history, with citizens yearning for peace, justice, economic stability, and accountable leadership.

He noted that justice, security of lives and property, and human dignity transcend political and denominational boundaries.

Akume emphasized that the Church’s advocacy for good governance, human dignity, national unity, and the sanctity of life continues to serve as a moral compass for the country.

Reaffirming the Federal Government’s readiness for constructive engagement, the SGF said the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu remains committed to advancing peace, interreligious harmony, youth empowerment, and inclusive development.

He also commended the Church’s efforts to promote dialogue, reconciliation, and interfaith collaboration amid insecurity and social fragmentation, stressing that Nigeria’s diversity should be a source of strength rather than division.

“Let me assure you that the Government remains committed to policies aimed at economic reform, institutional strengthening, and social protection for the most vulnerable. We acknowledge that transformation requires patience, sacrifice, and collective effort. In this journey, the prayers and moral support of the Church are invaluable.

The SGF reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to strengthening collaboration with the Catholic Church in advancing national development, peace, and social cohesion.

Akume noted that beyond its administrative importance, the plenary offered an opportunity for discernment on the spiritual and socio-economic realities facing Nigerians.