Cardinal Onaiyekan Warns of Possible 2027 Election Boycott
The Archbishop Emeritus of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, has expressed serious concern that many Nigerians may choose not to vote in the 2027 general elections if they become convinced that the outcome is already decided.
He warned that a belief in a guaranteed win for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) would depress voter turnout and undermine the legitimacy of any government that emerges from such a 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.”
— Cardinal John Onaiyekan
The cardinal stressed that genuine democracy depends on free, fair, and credible elections. Without them, governance suffers and the populace endures misery.
“Genuine democracy is built on free and fair elections. Any democracy that cannot do free, fair, and credible elections cannot come up with good governance. Elections have consequences… Bad elections lead to bad governance and bad governance leads to misery among the people.”
— Cardinal John Onaiyekan
Onaiyekan lamented that Nigeria has yet to conduct a truly free and fair election, linking low voter turnout to widespread disillusionment. He urged those in power to act urgently to restore public trust ahead of the 2027 polls.
“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% of Nigerians voting.”
— Cardinal John Onaiyekan
He contrasted democratic rule with the military era, noting that elected leaders claim to govern in the people’s name and must therefore be held accountable.
Regarding institutions, Onaiyekan said that INEC’s neutrality alone is not enough; the conduct of security agencies during polls often undermines credibility through intimidation.
“Even if INEC is neutral, as you know, 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.”
— Cardinal John Onaiyekan
He added that the rules governing security conduct and INEC operations need improvement, and called for electoral reforms, particularly in how INEC leadership is appointed, to reduce perceptions of bias.
“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.”
— Cardinal John Onaiyekan
The cardinal concluded by urging swift action to safeguard Nigeria’s democratic future, emphasizing that restoring confidence in the electoral process is essential for good governance and national wellbeing.
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