The Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja Archdiocese, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, has cautioned state governors, including Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra, against directing voters on who to support in the 2027 presidential election.
Onaiyekan said voters, particularly in the South-East, should be allowed to freely decide who they want to elect, stressing that governors have only one vote like every other eligible citizen.
The cleric spoke on Thursday in Enugu while discussing Nigeria’s electoral process and concerns over the credibility of elections ahead of the 2027 general elections.
According to him, it was not the responsibility of governors to determine the voting choices of citizens.
“It is not the duty of Governor Soludo or other governors to tell people who to vote for. They only have one vote,” Onaiyekan said.
The bishop also said elections should not be treated as an overly complicated exercise, arguing that electoral authorities should be able to conduct polls freely and fairly.
“Elections are not rocket science; they can be conducted freely and fairly,” he said.
Onaiyekan further expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of elections conducted in Nigeria, saying the country had yet to achieve the standard of seriousness required of a democratic electoral process.
“As far as I’m concerned, the elections we have had so far in Nigeria have not been serious,” he said.
His comments come against the backdrop of Soludo’s recent remarks urging voters in Anambra and the wider South-East to adopt what he described as a strategic approach to elections.
Soludo, while addressing residents of Ekwusigo Local Government Area, had asked the people to avoid “wasting” their votes on politicians whose participation in politics, according to him, had not yielded significant benefits for the Igbo.
Speaking during the commissioning of the 3km Ozu-Inyaba-Ozubulu-Ihembosi Road and other projects in the area, the governor used metaphors to question the contributions of unnamed politicians to the development of the South-East.
He asked voters to consider what politicians had brought back to the region after years of participating in politics.
“After a soldier goes to war, what is the evidence of his war? After 10, 15 years, what has happened? What did you bring for Igbo people?” Soludo asked.
The governor also criticised unnamed political figures over the persistent erosion problems in parts of Anambra, arguing that those who had failed to resolve such challenges should not be entrusted with greater responsibilities.
Soludo further promoted the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) as the political platform through which, he said, Anambra and the Igbo would secure their interests.
“This is where APGA is; Igboland will be better. Anambra will get its right,” he said.
However, Onaiyekan maintained that the ultimate decision on who should lead the country belongs to voters and should not be dictated by political office holders.
The cardinal also spoke about the Independent National Electoral Commission and its new chairman, Joash Amupitan, noting that the INEC chairman had promised to improve the electoral process.
“INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan, came and said he would surprise us,” Onaiyekan said.
He further disclosed that Catholic bishops had raised concerns about Nigeria’s political environment during a meeting with President Bola Tinubu.
According to him, the bishops warned the President that the political space was becoming unstable and that the conduct of free and fair elections was under threat.
“When we bishops visited President Tinubu, we reminded him that the political space was shaking and that free and fair elections were being threatened,” he said.
