You Spoke For Catholics Not Christians, Presidency Knocks Onaiyekan

The Presidency has fired back at Cardinal John Onaiyekan, Archbishop Emeritus of the Catholic Diocese of Abuja, over his recent remarks accusing President Bola Tinubu of being “bent on winning by all means” ahead of the 2027 elections, insisting the cleric spoke for Catholics and not for Christians as a whole.

Onaiyekan had told ARISE NEWS that Tinubu “quite clearly” disagreed with concerns raised by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) during a July 28 meeting at the State House, where the bishops flagged the economy, insecurity, and the country’s political climate, including what they described as a “creeping danger” of one-party dominance.

Responding, Daniel, Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Policy Communication, said the Cardinal’s intervention was political rather than spiritual, and did not represent the wider Christian community.

“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, Cardinal is more political than spiritual. And not all catholic members are supporting Peter Obi,” he said.

He defended Tinubu’s decision to reject the bishops’ assessment of the economy during the meeting, insisting the President’s position was rooted in verifiable data rather than sentiment.

“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.

Daniel also accused the Church of applying a double standard, alleging that clergy typically discourage congregants from openly describing hardship.

“Ironically, the same priest would rebuke their members if the members said ‘we are suffering or we are poor,’ they would tell them to rather say ‘we are doing great and or we are rich even when they are suffering or poor,'” he said.

He argued that a more representative, neutral platform already exists for Christians to speak collectively, and warned against conflating that role with the CBCN’s position.

“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,” he said.