The Archbishop Emeritus of the Catholic Archdiocese Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, has warned that voters would not turn out in the 2027 general elections if Nigerians conclude that victory is already guaranteed for the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
Speaking on Monday during a program on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, monitored by DAILY POST in Abeokuta, the Cardinal said perception matters as much as the vote itself.
He cautioned that belief in a predetermined outcome would discourage citizens and damage the legitimacy of any government that emerges.
“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,” Onaiyekan said. “And even if the government, the real power wins, it will not bring a real victory actually. And it is not going to be possible to deliver good government.”
The cleric stressed that restoring public confidence in the electoral process is critical to improving governance, stressing that democracy can only thrive where elections are genuinely free, fair and credible, and anything less produces poor leadership.
“Genuine democracy is built on free and fair elections,” he said. “Any democracy that cannot do free, fair, and credible election cannot come up with good governance. Elections have consequences… Bad elections lead to bad governance and bad governance leads to misery among the people.”
Onaiyekan lamented that Nigeria is yet to conduct a truly free and fair election, linking low voter turnout to widespread disillusionment and
