The President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, Archbishop Lucius Ugorji, has accused the National Assembly of “talking out of both sides of the mouth” on the country’s technological advancement.
Ugorji spoke while delivering his address at the opening ceremony of the 2026 First Plenary Meeting of Catholic bishops held in Abuja.
He drew a sharp contrast between the government’s aggressive drive to deploy digital technology for tax collection and its apparent foot-dragging in using the same technology to guarantee electoral transparency.
President Bola Tinubu last Wednesday signed the Electoral Act 2026 (Amendment) into law, the day after the National Assembly passed the bill into law.
The amendment was trailed by protests, agitations over “real-time, electronic transmission” of election results.
Speaking on Sunday, the CBCN president challenged the National Assembly to align its technological ambitions for revenue generation with its commitment to democratic integrity.
Ugorji cited the 2025 Tax Act, which took effect on January 1, 2026, as a prime example of what he described as the government’s selective embrace of technology.
While the Act mandates digital filing and record-keeping for all citizens to ensure fiscal compliance, the National Assembly has notably resisted similar mandatory digital safeguards for the nation’s democratic currency, that is, the people’s mandate,” he said.
Ugorji added, “The honourable members of the NASS should not allow themselves to be perceived as expressing inconsistent and contradictory positions.
“In passing a bill that is a watered-down version of the people’s will and which creates room for the manipulation of electoral results, the NASS should recall that it had earlier passed the 2025 Tax Bill that demands digital filing.”
The archbishop supported his “double standards” argument with data showing Nigeria’s dwindling democratic legitimacy
He noted a steady decline in voter participation over the last two decades.
“With only 23 per cent of registered voters participating in the 2023 general election, the mandate of an ever-decreasing minority calls into question the very legitimacy of the government,” Ugorji said.
He argued that the only way to revive citizens’ trust is to make the real-time transmission of results from BVAS to the IReV portal a mandatory legal requirement.
He also slammed the government’s “analogue” mindset as extended to national security.
He lamented that while gunmen “brazenly brandish” ransoms on social media, they are rarely tracked or apprehended through their digital footprints.
He condemned the current security approach as “reactive interventions” or “administering medicine after death.”
He highlighted the Woro and Nuku massacres, where over 200 Muslims were reportedly killed by extremists without resistance from security forces.
He questioned the rationale for reintegrating “repentant” terrorists, saying it gives the impression of government complicity.
Ahead of the 2027 election, Ugorji prayed for the emergence of a new breed of leaders.
He urged Nigerians to elect “holy politicians” who view leadership as service to the common good rather than a mechanism for “stealing other people’s mandates.”
“The world is watching,” the archbishop concluded. “Above all, God is also watching.”
Discover more from starmich blog
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
