Catholic Priest, Fr Kelvin Ugwu, has called Nigeria's electoral body, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to Include photos of candidates on ballot papers ahead of next year's presidential election.
The cleric said it is important to have photos of candidates on the ballot so that voters would know exactly who they are voting for, since it is the candidate who governs, and not the party.
He wrote, “Dear INEC Nigeria, Our ballot paper should be like this because in the true sense of it, it is actually the individual with his vice that we are voting for.
"All the elections conducted in Nigeria in the past, the ballot paper just carried only party logos. But it is not the party we vote that leads us after the elections but the individual.
"Almost all the countries in Africa has both the face, the name of the candidate, his/her running mate, and the party logo on their ballot papers. Please do this for Nigerians.”
The system currently in use in the country, only have party logos, making it difficult for voters to know who they are voting for. This practice also gives the impression that the party is more important than the candidate.
While the change if implemented will be a welcome development, it is however, unlikely, that the electoral body will consider implementing the proposal with less than a year left until the coming election.