Atiku to Presidency: Address Catholic Bishops’ Concerns, Stop Attacking Onaiyekan

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s media team for attacking John Cardinal Onaiyekan, the Archbishop Emeritus of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, instead of addressing concerns raised by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) about the state of the nation.

Atiku’s position was contained in a statement issued on Sunday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu.

The former vice-president said the responsibility of Catholic bishops is to speak truth to power rather than praise political leaders, insisting that the CBCN has consistently fulfilled that role over the years.

His remarks followed the recent meeting between President Tinubu and the leadership of the CBCN, led by its President, Archbishop Matthew Ndagoso, at the State House in Abuja.

During the meeting, the bishops expressed concerns over the country’s economic hardship, insecurity and governance challenges.

President Tinubu, however, defended his administration, saying the economy was stabilising and describing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as neutral.

Following the meeting, Cardinal Onaiyekan stated during an interview that the bishops told the President the country was “bleeding” and that worsening economic conditions were placing severe hardship on ordinary Nigerians.

Reacting to the cleric’s comments, Presidential spokesman Daniel Bwala argued that Onaiyekan was not speaking for all Christians and alleged that the Catholic Church was politically sympathetic to Nigeria Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

Responding to Bwala’s remarks, Atiku said the Presidency’s reaction reflected intolerance toward independent voices and failed to engage with the substance of the bishops’ concerns.

According to him, the Catholic bishops demonstrated courage by presenting what he described as the true state of the nation directly to the President.

He accused the Presidency of attempting to reshape public perception by selectively presenting the outcome of the meeting while dismissing the bishops’ observations.

Atiku maintained that Cardinal Onaiyekan’s decision to clarify the bishops’ position was responsible and necessary, insisting it should not have attracted personal attacks.

He further argued that resorting to insults instead of responding to the issues raised only weakened the Presidency’s position.

The former vice-president called on the Federal Government to apologise to both the Catholic Church and Cardinal Onaiyekan over what he described as an unwarranted attack on the respected cleric.