By Abah Anthony John
With just over a year to Nigeria’s 2027 general elections, the Secretary-General of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN), Rev. Fr. Michael Banjo, has called on Catholics across the country to “intensify grassroots voter education, deploy competent election observers, and advocate for transparent electoral reforms” to safeguard the people’s mandate.
Fr. Banjo made the appeal during the Annual General Meeting of the Catholic Secretariat in Abuja, stressing that politicians have already begun their preparations and the Church “cannot afford to be passive.”
He warned that the next 15 months will be decisive, adding, “This is the moment to intensify grassroots voter education, train and deploy competent election observers, and strengthen advocacy for electoral reforms that ensure transparency, real-time results transmission, and accountability.”
Beyond elections, Fr. Banjo situated the meeting within Nigeria’s broader crises, marked by widespread insecurity, banditry, and abductions.
He noted that the national debate over whether the killings amount to genocide has often distracted from the more urgent concern, protecting human life.
“What is far more important is what is essential, which is the safety of everyone within the Nigerian territory,” he said.
Quoting the position of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), he urged Nigerians to move away from arguments over “who has suffered more losses” and instead defend the sanctity of all human life.
“The Catholic principle of common good and solidarity compels us to stand for every victim, regardless of religion or tribe,” he added.
Fr. Banjo emphasized that Catholic Social Teaching (CST), must remain central to the Church’s mission in a fractured society.
He described CST as “indispensable for sound administration, good governance, social transformation, and the building of a civilization of love.”
To institutionalize these values, he announced that CST textbooks for nursery, primary, and secondary schools are being developed, with the primary school version already completed and awaiting final editing.
“By embedding CST in the earliest stages of learning, we are laying the foundation for long-term national renewal,” he said.
The Secretary-General also highlighted the Jubilee Year of Hope and its call for concrete acts of reconciliation and liberation.
He urged the Justice, Development and Peace Commission (JDPC), across dioceses to prioritize freeing detainees held for minor, bailable offences simply because they cannot afford legal processes.
“Let the Jubilee reach our prisons through your hands,” he appealed, noting that reintegration efforts such as skills training and livelihood support must accompany releases.
