Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, has said governors should not dictate how people in the South-East vote in the 2027 presidential election, insisting that Ndigbo must be allowed to freely choose their preferred candidate.
Onaiyekan made the remarks on Thursday during an interview with Afia TV in Enugu while responding to recent comments by Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo on the political choices of the Igbo ahead of the 2027 election. Soludo has urged the South-East to adopt what he described as a strategic approach to voting and has publicly expressed support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.
Although Onaiyekan said he was not aware of exactly what Soludo had told Ndigbo, he maintained that voters should be free to make their own decisions at the ballot box. According to him, governors are elected representatives and should not assume the role of directing citizens on how to exercise their franchise.
“It is not the duties of governors to teach, to tell people how they should vote,” Onaiyekan said, adding that governors would themselves have the opportunity to cast their ballots according to their individual preferences.
“The governors will have their own votes now. Every governor will be able to vote. He will vote for himself. Let others do,” he said, stressing that elections provide citizens with an important opportunity to express their political preferences.
The cleric also called for reforms to Nigeria’s electoral system, including a constitutional requirement that a presidential candidate secure at least 50 per cent of votes cast before being declared winner. He further advocated greater independence in the appointment of INEC leadership and urged that election petitions be concluded before winners are inaugurated.
