Catholic Priests Not Like ‘Fake Bishops’, Atiku Condemns Presidency’s Attack

Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has condemned the Presidency’s attack on the Catholic Church and John Cardinal Onaiyekan, accusing the Bola Tinubu administration of growing intolerant of dissent and uncomfortable truths.

Rather than reflect on the substance of the cleric’s message, Atiku said, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, on Sunday, the Presidency opted instead for intimidation and political attacks.

Catholic bishops had recently engaged with the President, where he defended his record and the independence of the electoral umpire.

However, Onaiyekan said in a television interview on Friday that the bishops told the President the country is bleeding and the economy is not helping poor citizens, adding that Tinubu and his officials present were “not looking very happy” with the message, which he said differed from what the President usually hears.

But the Presidency slammed Onaiyekan, accusing him and the Catholic Church, among other things, of working for Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi.

Atiku suggested the Presidency’s response reflected a habit of surrounding itself with compliant clerics allegedly used in the lead-up to the 2023 general election, contrasting this with the independence of Catholic bishops.

“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 said.

Atiku said the Catholic Church has historically served as a moral voice for the poor and vulnerable regardless of who occupies Aso Rock, praising the bishops for confronting Tinubu directly.

He described the Presidency’s commentary against Onaiyekan as arrogant and unbecoming of government, accusing officials of attempting to distort the cleric’s engagement with the President.

According to him, the media managers of the Tinubu administration attempted to cancel and overwrite the voices of the Catholic bishops by selectively editing and reframing their engagement with the President in order to manufacture a narrative favourable to the government.

He said Onaiyekan’s decision to speak to the press afterward was merely an effort to place the facts on record.

“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 said.

Atiku noted that the Cardinal’s comments merely reflected the daily realities of hunger, insecurity, poverty, unemployment and the cost-of-living crisis confronting Nigerians, and that attacking him would not erase those realities.

He demanded that the Presidency apologise to the Catholic Church, Cardinal Onaiyekan, and Catholic faithful nationwide, warning that the administration would continue to face accusations of arrogance and intolerance until it did so.