During an interview from 7:40 on Arise Television on Saturday, August 1, 2026, John Onaiyekan, Archbishop Emeritus, Catholic Diocese of Abuja, spoke about concerns raised by Christian leaders during their recent meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu regarding Nigeria’s electoral process and the country’s democratic future.
Onaiyekan explained that the delegation expressed fears about the credibility of future elections, warning that the conduct of the electoral process could undermine public confidence in democracy. He said the church leaders also cautioned the president about the possible consequences of failing to strengthen Nigeria’s electoral system ahead of future polls.
According to him, “We are worried about the fact that we see clearly that our government is bent on winning by all means. And unfortunately, they have a lot of means at their disposal to win. And they are deploying all those means in a way that eventually, even if we had a free and fair election, the votes of the people may not count. But we gave two warnings.”
He further stated, “The first one is the one you mentioned. I’m trying to remember now. But the second one is that if we do not rearrange our election system to make sure that our elections are really free, fair, and credible, it can lead to difficulties.”
Onaiyekan said the warnings formed part of the message delivered by the Christian delegation during its engagement with the president. He stressed the importance of ensuring that future elections are transparent, credible, and reflective of the will of the Nigerian people in order to preserve public confidence in the country’s democratic process….See More