Abuja, 18 September, 2023 / 5:39 pm (ACI Africa).
Members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) are calling on civil societies in the West African nation to push for reforms that can hasten election-related petitions so that they are determined before a new President is sworn-in.
In their communiqué at the end of their nine-day 2023 second Plenary Assembly that concluded on September 15, CBCN members make reference to Nigeria’s disputed presidential poll and that of other political leaders following the February and March general elections.
Despite court cases challenging his victory in the February 25 presidential elections, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was sworn in as Nigeria’s head of State on May 29. His victory was upheld on September 6 in line with the country’s constitution allowing election tribunals to deliver poll petition rulings within 180 days (six month) from the date the petition is filed.
In their communiqué, Catholic Bishops in Nigeria say, “We urge civil societies to put more pressure on government to initiate further reforms in which all election petitions would be determined before the swearing-in and inauguration of new administrations.”
They also express their concern about the attitudes, objectives, and behavior of the political class at all levels in the West African nation, which they say “are far from the ideal” and call for an urgent “radical change of heart among all politicians” for a stronger nation.
