Catholic bishops slam N’Assembly over new Electoral Act

Catholic bishops

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. Punch