Archbishop Emeritus of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, has warned that many Nigerians may boycott the 2027 general elections if they believe the outcome has already been predetermined in favour of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Speaking on Monday during a programme on Eagle 102.5 FM in Ilese-Ijebu, the cleric stressed that public confidence in the electoral process is as important as the conduct of the elections themselves.
Onaiyekan cautioned that if Nigerians lose faith in the credibility of the polls, voter participation could decline significantly, undermining the legitimacy of any government elected through the process.
“My fear is that if it becomes very clear to Nigerians that no matter what happens, the APC will win, then most people won’t even bother to go to the election,” he said.
“And even if the government, the real power wins, it will not bring a real victory actually. And it is not going to be possible to deliver good government.”
The Catholic cleric maintained that credible elections remain the foundation of genuine democracy, noting that only free, fair and transparent polls can produce leaders who truly represent the will of the people.
“Genuine democracy is built on free and fair elections,” he said. “Any democracy that cannot do free, fair and credible election cannot come up with good governance. Elections have consequences. Bad elections lead to bad governance and bad governance leads to misery among the people.”
Onaiyekan lamented that Nigeria has yet to conduct elections widely accepted as completely free and fair, attributing declining voter turnout to growing public disillusionment with the electoral process.
He urged the government to restore public trust ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“It is in our interest, and the government who has all the powers, to please make sure that the trust of the people in the electoral process is restored, so that we can get at least 50 per cent of Nigerians voting,” he said.
Reflecting on Nigeria’s democratic journey, the Cardinal observed that while the country has moved beyond military rule, citizens now have the responsibility to hold elected leaders accountable.
“When we were under military regime, we didn’t talk about elections. Now we are with democracy, and the rulers say that they are ruling in our name. We can’t keep quiet when people claiming to be working in our name are not,” he stated.
On the conduct of elections, Onaiyekan said the credibility of the process extends beyond the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), arguing that the conduct of security agencies during elections also influences public confidence.
He alleged that security personnel often intimidate voters during elections, a practice he said undermines democratic standards.
“Even if INEC is neutral, the election outcome is also affected by the activities and the performance of the security agents who claim to be securing the election, but who often end up intimidating people with sirens all over the place, which doesn’t happen in decent democracies,” he said.
He also renewed calls for reforms to Nigeria’s electoral framework, particularly the process for appointing INEC leadership.
According to him, allowing the government in power to appoint the electoral commission raises questions about its independence.
“We know that the government in power appoints the INEC. We have to figure a way out of that because if the government in power appoints the INEC, then it’s difficult to have a fair game, unless you have a very strong chairman of INEC who decides to stand up against all pressures,” Onaiyekan added.
