By Benedict Agbo
ELECTION rigging thrives wherever there is voter apathy, voter ignorance, vote buying, intimidation, weak electoral monitoring and poor civic participation. The Church possesses one of the largest and most organised grassroots structures in Nigeria and can play a decisive role in promoting free, fair and credible elections.
As we prepare for the 2027 general elections, the Church can take the following proactive steps:
1. Massive Voter Registration Awareness
Launch aggressive awareness campaigns, especially among young people, to encourage participation in the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise. Every eligible Christian should obtain a Permanent Voter Card (PVC). The current CVR has been extended to 24th July.
2. Operation “SHOW YOUR PVC”
Every parish should know the number of eligible voters within its community and encourage them to obtain their PVCs and come out to vote on election day. A PVC that remains at home is a wasted civic responsibility.
3. Encourage Credible Christians to Serve as INEC Ad Hoc Staff
Priests should encourage trustworthy Catholic (including Assistant Parish Priests) and other Christian faithful to enroll as INEC ad hoc Staff. Electoral manipulation often begins when polling officials are dominated by persons with partisan loyalties rather than individuals committed to integrity.
4. Organise Parish, Local Government and Diocesan Town Hall Meetings
Regular Town Hall Meetings (THMs) should be organised to educate parishioners about the electoral process and provide sufficient factual information about candidates, enabling voters to make informed and responsible choices.
5. Strengthen Parish JDPC Structures
Parish JDPC members should recruit and train accredited election observers across every Ward and Polling Unit. JDPC should become a vibrant parish-based apostolate and not merely a diocesan office.
6. Establish a Nationwide JDPC Election Observation and Digital Reporting System
Develop a real-time reporting network that enables observers across the country to promptly transmit verified information on the conduct of elections and any irregularities requiring immediate attention.
7. Constitute an Election Task Force
An Election Task Force made up of disciplined, able-bodied youths should lawfully help safeguard polling environments, monitor strict compliance with the use of BVAS, and ensure the prompt transmission of Form EC8A results to the IReV immediately after results are declared at each Polling Unit.
8. Follow the Results Through Every Stage of Collation
This Election Task Force should lawfully monitor the movement of election results from the Polling Units to the Ward Collation Centres and subsequently to the Local Government Collation Centres, ensuring transparency throughout the process.
9. Identify and Report Violence-Prone Areas
Parish priests should identify, map and promptly report violence-prone areas before, during and after elections. Where substantial irregularities occur, they should support lawful processes for the prompt reporting and, where necessary, legal challenge or cancellation of compromised elections.
10. Promote Accountability Within the Church
Christians found to have participated in electoral malpractice should be identified and subjected to appropriate ecclesial disciplinary measures. This should especially apply to Church leaders, Knights and members of parish executive bodies, whose public witness carries greater responsibility.
Conclusion
Many religious communities especially our Muslim faithful demonstrate remarkable organisation and commitment during elections. The Church must show equal seriousness in defending justice, truth and the common good.
God will not ordinarily do for us what He has already given us the responsibility and capacity to do ourselves. The time has come for the Church to rise to her prophetic mission by helping to safeguard Nigeria’s democracy through lawful civic engagement. Otherwise, we risk remaining perpetual victims of bad governance while lamenting avoidable electoral failures.
The defence of democracy is not merely a political duty; it is also a moral responsibility. A vigilant Church can become one of the strongest guardians of free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria.
Agbo is a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Nsukka, a political activist, an Associate Professor and Head of Department of Music University of Nigeria Nsukka.
