The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria at the weekend criticised the conduct of the 2023 election, saying it has eroded the confidence of Nigerians in the nation’s electoral process.
But in a swift reaction, the Independent National Electoral Commission rejected the verdict, describing the bishops’ position as “ungodly”.
Speaking on Saturday in Akwa Ibom State during the 2025 interactive session of the CBCN with lay faithful of the Calabar Ecclesiastical Province, the CBCN President and Archbishop of Owerri, Lucius Ugorji, warned that the country was “sinking on many fronts,” lamenting that the 2023 general elections further eroded citizens’ confidence in the nation’s democracy.
The Archbishop identified corruption as the root of Nigeria’s crises, describing it as “moral rottenness spreading unchecked like a deadly cancer.”
He accused leaders of neglecting governance in favour of personal ambition ahead of 2027.
“While the country is faced with serious existential threats, many politicians at the national and sub-national levels seem more preoccupied with the 2027 general elections and less concerned with fulfilling their campaign promises,” Ugorji said.
He cautioned that unless drastic reforms were undertaken, Nigeria risked total collapse.
Turning to electoral matters, Ugorji said the 2023 elections further eroded public trust.
“Citizens’ confidence in the electoral process was seriously eroded during the last general elections by electoral malpractice, fraud and the so-called election glitches,” he declared.
He called for comprehensive reforms, including real-time electronic transmission and collation of results, as well as constitutional amendments to guarantee the independence of the Independent National Electoral Commission.
“Most appointments to the electoral body so far could neither be seen as non-partisan nor independent. This calls for the amendment to the Constitution to strengthen the independence and credibility of INEC and protect it from political manipulation,” he said.
He warned that those who block reforms risk provoking instability:“Fundamental reforms are necessary for the preservation of social stability, and those who try to frustrate such peaceful changes make violent changes unavoidable.”
However, reacting in a statement sent to The PUNCH on Sunday, the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, tackled the bishops, saying, “It is unfair and even ungodly to narrow down the credibility of the outcome of the 2023 general election to the unfortunate glitch that happened to the INEC Result Viewing portal.”
Oyekanmi dismissed the bishops’ assessment of the 2023 elections as unfounded and driven by misinformation.
“The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria is not in the position to determine the credibility of the 2023 General Election because it does not have the evidence to do so,” he said.
Oyekanmi insisted that the election met the necessary legal standards and that allegations of rigging were baseless.
“I want to affirm, without any fear of contradiction, that the 2023 general election was one of the best ever conducted in Nigeria. It was not a perfect election, but it met the threshold of substantial compliance,” he said.
He went further to challenge the bishops to present any concrete evidence to support their claims.
“Anyone who has any evidence to the contrary should please come forward with it. And I specifically challenge the Catholic Bishops to come forward with their evidence if they are so sure that the election was rigged—otherwise, they should fear God and hold their peace henceforth,” Oyekanmi stated.
INEC also defended the integrity of its Result Viewing portal, which suffered a technical failure during the presidential election. Oyekanmi described the backlash over the glitch as exaggerated.
According to him, the real results were recorded at polling units and witnessed by party agents.
“Every election that INEC conducts takes place and is won or lost at the polling units. That is where results are declared first, with copies of the polling unit result (Form EC8A) given to political party agents present,” he explained.
Oyekanmi criticised the way the portal’s malfunction has been framed in public discourse.
“The glitch that happened to the IReV is being erroneously projected as rigging the election. But the IReV does not add, subtract, or collate election results. It only displays the results already declared at the polling units,” he added.
He also drew comparisons with other digital systems, saying, “Technical glitches happen every now and then with our phones, social media platforms, the banks, and so on. Why is the IReV glitch being viewed differently?”
Meanwhile, the CBCN President, Archbishop Ugorji, in his Saturday remarks berated the level of insecurity, poverty, corruption, and bad governance in the country.
“We also lament that our beloved country, Nigeria, is sinking on many fronts,” Ugorji declared.“Insecurity continues to haunt us. Many towns and villages across the nation have become communities of fear, flight and funerals. Our fellow citizens are being daily kidnapped, extorted, dehumanised, killed or forced to flee their ancestral homes, abandoning their sources of livelihood to seek refuge in makeshift camps, exposed to extreme weather conditions, often without food and water.”
On the economy, he said Nigerians were “groaning under hardship,” with poverty and unemployment pushing young people into crime, migration, and hopelessness.
Ugorji also cited the death of former President Muhammadu Buhari in London on July 13, 2025, as fresh evidence of Nigeria’s crumbling health sector, noting that billions spent by leaders on medical tourism contrast sharply with the suffering of ordinary citizens who cannot access basic care at home.
He warned that the rot extended to education, the power sector, and other critical areas.
“Our educational institutions are facing significant challenges, including inadequate funding, decaying infrastructure and a diminishing number of qualified teachers, leading to a steady decline in the quality of education,” he lamented.
“The energy sector is also a source of concern. It faces challenges, including regular power outages and obsolete and overstretched infrastructure. This results in high costs for businesses and individuals and limited access to electricity by a large portion of the population.”
Ugorji stressed that Christians and the laity must rise to the challenge of social transformation. He urged them not only to register and vote but also to join political parties, contest leadership positions, and act as “salt of the earth” and “light of the world.”
Quoting Vatican II and Pope John Paul II, he emphasised the importance of political education, especially for young Nigerians, to enable them to actively participate in national transformation.
“If we expect much from the laity in the area of national transformation, much has to be given to them in terms of political education,” Ugorji said.
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