Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar says President Bola Tinubu’s media handlers are attacking John Onaiyekan, cardinal and former archbishop of Abuja, instead of addressing concerns raised by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) about the state of the nation.
In a statement issued on Sunday by Phrank Shaibu, his senior special assistant on public communication, Atiku said the duty of Catholic bishops is not to flatter those in power, adding that the CBCN has always spoken truth to power.
Last Tuesday, the leadership of the CBCN, led by Matthew Ndagoso, its president, visited Tinubu at the State House in Abuja.
During the meeting, Ndagoso presented the CBCN’s message to the president, raising concerns about the state of the nation and the economic hardship facing Nigerians.
Tinubu, however, defended his administration’s performance, saying the economy is stabilising and that the era of prolonged strikes by university lecturers has ended.
The president also told the Catholic bishops that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is “neutral”, adding that his political opponents are “afraid of their own shadows and uncertainty in the companies they keep”.
Speaking on the “Prime Time” programme on Arise Television on Friday, Onaiyekan said Tinubu was unhappy with and disagreed with the message delivered by the Catholic bishops.
Onaiyekan said the Catholic bishops told the president that the country is bleeding and that the economy is worsening the plight of poor Nigerians.
Responding to Onaiyekan’s remarks, Daniel Bwala, special adviser to the president on communication, said the cardinal’s comments did not represent the views of all Christians.
Bwala also alleged that the Catholic Church was “rooting for” Peter Obi, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
Atiku said the Catholic bishops showed courage by “looking the President in the face and telling him the bitter truth about the state of the nation”.
The former vice-president said the presidency’s comment towards Onaiyekan was “unbecoming of a government and amounted to sheer arrogance”.
“The commentary by the Tinubu Presidency against Cardinal John Onaiyekan—a respected voice, elder statesman and beacon of truth within the Catholic Church—was delivered in language that was unbecoming of a government and amounted to sheer arrogance, not only towards the Church but towards millions of Nigerians who hold the Cardinal and the institution he represents in the highest esteem,” the statement reads.
“Such haughtiness betrays a government that has lost respect for independent voices. 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.
“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. Resorting to insults instead of addressing the issues only exposes the bankruptcy of their arguments.”
The former vice-president said the presidency owes the Catholic Church and Onaiyekan an “immediate and unreserved apology” over the “reckless assault” on the cleric.
