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The Archbishop Emeritus of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, John Onaiyekan has been caught in the political crossfire following his criticisms of President Bola Tinubu administration.
Speaking during an interview on Prime Time, a programme on Arise News, on Friday, Onaiyekan said members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria raised economy and security concerns during their meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the State House, Abuja on July 28.
But in a swift response, the Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Media and Public Communications, Daniel Bwala fired salvos on Cardinal Onaiyekan over his comments on the economy and insecurity, stressing that the cleric was speaking for Catholics and not all Christians.
However, Nigeria’s ex-Vice President, Atiku Abubakar shielded the clergyman and condemned the presidency’s criticism of the Catholic Church and John Cardinal Onaiyekan, describing it as an attack on one of Nigeria’s most respected moral institutions and a sign of the Tinubu administration’s growing intolerance of dissent.
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‘‘When the nation is bleeding, you cannot expect a polite meeting with the Head of State. We told him the economy is not helping our poor people; he told us the economy is doing fine. Frankly speaking, he told us quite clearly that he did not agree with us,’’ Onaiyekan.
He added, “We didn’t expect him to agree with us. We have done our duty, we have delivered our message, and we have a feeling that somehow, along the line, somebody will show him a few of the things we said.”
The Presidency on Saturday tackled the Archbishop Emeritus of the Catholic Diocese of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, on his accusation that President Bola Tinubu’s administration was bent on winning the 2027 elections by all means.
Onaiyekan expressed concern over what he described as the federal government’s apparent determination to retain Tinubu in power in the 2027 general election at all costs.
He accused those around President Tinubu of painting a “rosy picture” of the country for him, contrary to the true state of the nation.
The respected cleric warned that unless Nigeria strengthens its electoral process, the outcome of future elections may not truly reflect the will of the people.
Onaiyekan said there were growing fears that the current administration was leveraging incumbency to undermine the credibility of the electoral process.
According to him, although President Tinubu had repeatedly maintained that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was neutral, many Nigerians still had concerns about the commission’s neutrality and whether the electoral body could conduct elections that were completely free and fair.
“We’re worried about the fact that President Tinubu’s administration is bent on winning the 2027 elections by all means,” the cleric said.
He added that the government has enormous powers at its disposal. He warned that those powers could be used in ways that might prevent the votes of ordinary Nigerians from counting, even if the election itself appears free and fair.
“Unfortunately, they have a lot of means at their disposal, and they’re deploying all those means in a way that eventually, even with a free and fair election, the votes of the people may not count,” he stated.
The former Catholic Archbishop stressed that Nigeria must urgently reform its electoral system to ensure credible elections that reflect voters’ genuine choice.
He also cautioned against the country drifting towards a one-party state, saying such a development would not strengthen democracy.
While it is understandable that a sitting president would seek re-election, he said the advantage of incumbency should not be used to compromise the electoral process.
“Of course, we are not expecting Mr President to help the opposition defeat him. But the point we are raising is that even though the president has all the powers of incumbency, he is in the election. He is a candidate like any other person,” Onaiyekan added.
The cleric maintained that only transparent, free and credible elections would preserve public confidence in Nigeria’s democracy ahead of the 2027 polls.
The Presidency Fires back
Reacting on X Saturday, the Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Media and Public Communications, Bwala, argued that the cleric spoke only for the Catholic Church and not for Christians as a whole.
Bwala said Onaiyekan’s position aligned with institutions he claimed were rooting for the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2027 presidential election, Mr Peter Obi.
He noted that Obi had made his “take back your country” remark in 2022 within Catholic circles.
“Cardinal Onaiyekan wasn’t speaking for Christians; he was speaking for Catholics, the very institutions rooting for Peter Obi, in fact, likely the institution where Peter Obi also said in 2022, ‘take back your country.
“Therefore, the Cardinal is more political than spiritual. And not all Catholic members are supporting Peter Obi,” Bwala wrote.
The presidential aide insisted that Tinubu was entitled to disagree with the bishops’ position.
“The president was well within his right to disagree with their assertion as regards Nigeria’s economy based purely on facts, statistics and numbers put into context,” he said.
Bwala also accused the cleric of inconsistency, saying priests who criticised the government’s economic narrative would silence their own members for making similar complaints.
“Ironically, the same priest would rebuke their members if the members said ‘we are suffering or we are poor.’ They would tell them rather to say ‘we are doing great and/or we are rich’ even when they are suffering or poor,” he said.
He further argued that a broader body representing all Christians, including Catholics, already existed and that its neutrality was being undermined.
“There is a body comprising all Christians, including the Catholics and Catholic Bishops Conference, and that body’s position is neutral and should be so; otherwise, it is political,” Bwala said.
Atiku Shields Onaiyekan, condemns Presidency
Ex-Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has condemned the presidency’s criticism of the Catholic Church and John Cardinal Onaiyekan, describing it as an attack on one of Nigeria’s most respected moral institutions and a sign of the Tinubu administration’s growing intolerance of dissent.
Atiku also demanded an immediate and unreserved apology to the former Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Cardinal Onaiyekan, and the Catholic faithful, insisting that the presidency’s response to the cleric’s comments was “arrogant, disrespectful and unbecoming of a democratic government.”
In a statement issued on Sunday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president accused the presidency of choosing political attacks over introspection following recent remarks by members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria on the state of the nation.
According to Atiku, rather than addressing the concerns raised by the bishops, the presidency resorted to intimidation and attempts to discredit respected religious leaders.
“It was both unfortunate and dangerous that, instead of reflecting on the substance of the cleric’s message, the presidency chose the familiar path of intimidation, ridicule and political attacks,” he said.
Atiku described the Catholic Church as one of Nigeria’s enduring moral voices, noting that its leaders have consistently spoken in defence of the poor, vulnerable and oppressed, regardless of the government in power.
“The Catholic Church has, for generations, stood as one of the moral voices of our nation. Its bishops and priests have consistently spoken for the poor, the oppressed and the vulnerable, irrespective of who occupies Aso Rock. Their duty is not to flatter those in power but to speak truth to power,” he stated.
Commending the Catholic clerics for what he called their courage, Atiku said they had fulfilled their moral responsibility by openly expressing concerns about the country’s economic and political situation.
“The Catholic bishops demonstrated rare courage by looking the president in the face and telling him the bitter truth about the state of the nation. That is precisely what patriotic religious leaders are called to do—not to decorate power with praise, but to confront it with truth.
“We urge other religious leaders, regardless of denomination or faith, to emulate this example by speaking truth to power whenever the nation’s interest demands it,” he added.
The African Democratic Congress presidential candidate also defended Cardinal Onaiyekan’s decision to grant an interview after the meeting, arguing that the cleric merely sought to place the facts before Nigerians following what he described as the presidency’s attempt to control the narrative.
“Cardinal Onaiyekan’s decision to speak to the press after the presidency sought to dominate and distort the public conversation was nothing more than an effort to place the facts on record. Such a responsible act cannot justify the vile, uncouth and disrespectful reaction that followed from Tinubu’s media handlers,” he said.
He accused the presidency of attempting to undermine the credibility of the Catholic bishops by selectively presenting their engagement with President Bola Tinubu.
“What the media managers of the Tinubu administration attempted to do was to cancel and overwrite the voices of the revered Catholic bishops by selectively editing and reframing their engagement with the president in order to manufacture a narrative favourable to the government. That cynical exercise amounted to an affront to the integrity, credibility and moral authority of the bishops,” he stated.
He further criticised what he described as the government’s intolerance of independent voices, warning that democracy cannot flourish where citizens, religious leaders and civil society organisations are attacked for expressing contrary views.
“The presidency is not a secret cult where only approved voices are permitted to speak. In a constitutional democracy, no one needs the permission of Aso Rock to tell the truth about the state of the nation,” he noted.
In a pointed reference to the controversy surrounding clerics who attended President Tinubu’s inauguration in 2023, Atiku said the administration appeared to believe that all religious leaders could be enlisted for political purposes.
“Perhaps the presidency has become so accustomed to inviting ‘fake bishops’ that it now assumes every cleric can be recruited into political propaganda. But Catholic bishops are different. They are not political props, rented cheerleaders or praise singers. They are shepherds with a moral obligation to speak truth to power, regardless of whose interests are bruised. They cannot be used,” he declared.
According to Atiku, attacking respected clerics would neither erase the economic challenges facing Nigerians nor absolve the government of responsibility for the hardship experienced across the country.
“The cleric merely gave voice to what millions of Nigerians discuss daily in their homes, markets, churches and workplaces. Silencing or attacking him will not erase the harsh realities of hunger, insecurity, rising poverty, unemployment and the unprecedented cost-of-living crisis confronting ordinary citizens,” he said.
“A government confident in its record welcomes criticism because it provides an opportunity for reflection and improvement. Only an insecure government wages war against honest voices while rewarding those who tell it only what it wants to hear,” he added.
The Wazirin Adamawa called on the presidency to apologise to Onaiyekan, the Catholic Church and millions of Catholic faithful across the country.
“The presidency owes the Catholic Church, Cardinal John Onaiyekan and the entire Catholic faithful an immediate and unreserved apology. The reckless assault on respected men of God was not merely an attack on individuals; it was an affront to one of Nigeria’s most credible moral institutions and an insult to millions of faithful Catholics.
“Until that apology is offered, the Tinubu administration will continue to stand accused of arrogance, intolerance and contempt for every independent voice that refuses to sing its praises,” he stated.
