Archbishop Emeritus of the Abuja Catholic Archdiocese, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, has cautioned State Governors, including Government Prof Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State against directing voters on who to support in the 2027 presidential election.
Onaiyekan who spoke on Thursday in Enugu while discussing Nigeria’s electoral process and concerns over the credibility of elections ahead of the 2027 general elections said voters, particularly in the South-East zone must be allowed to freely choose who they want to vote for, stressing that governors have only one vote like every other eligible citizen.
According to him, it was not the responsibility of governors to determine the voting choices of citizens.
“It is not the duty of Governor Soludo or other governors to tell people who to vote for. They only have one vote,” Onaiyekan said.
He further warned against treating elections as an overly complicated exercise, and stressed the need for the electoral authorities to conduct polls freely and fairly.
The Most Rev Onaiyekan expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of elections conducted in Nigeria, declaring that the country had yet to achieve the standard of seriousness required of a democratic electoral process.
Recall, while commissioning the 3km Ozu-Inyaba-Ozubulu-Ihembosi Road and other projects in the area, the governor used metaphors to question the contributions of unnamed politicians to the development of the South-East.
He asked voters to consider what politicians had brought back to the region after years of participating in politics.
“After a soldier goes to war, what is the evidence of his war? After 10, 15 years, what has happened? What did you bring for Igbo people?” Soludo asked.
The governor also criticised unnamed political figures over the persistent erosion problems in parts of Anambra, arguing that those who had failed to resolve such challenges should not be entrusted with greater responsibilities.
Soludo further promoted the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) as the political platform through which, he said, Anambra and the Igbo would secure their interests.
