Leadership for the Common Good: CBCN communiqué, February 2026

The Catholic Bishops of Nigeria met at the CSN Resource Centre in Durumi, Abuja, from 19 to 26 February 2026. Their communiqué, Leadership for the Common Good, invites Christians and Muslims to treat the shared season of Lent and Ramadan as a call to live together in harmony.

The bishops set out the Church’s teaching on the common good and call on every Christian to see responsible citizenship and participation in political life as a moral duty. They name economic sabotage, illegal mining and bad leadership as causes of the nation’s suffering, and ask government to secure farmers and the electoral process to be free and fair.

They conclude with hope: a better Nigeria is possible, and they ask the faithful to serve the least of the brethren and to work for leaders of probity, competence and commitment. The communiqué is signed by Archbishop Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji, President of the CBCN, and Bishop Donatus A. Ogun, OSA, Secretary.