…Says bishops have right to criticise government
…Insists Catholic leaders’ meeting with President was not private
By Juliet Umeh
Former Minister of Transportation and chieftain of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Rotimi Amaechi, has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of insulting the Catholic Church and the Christian faith, urging the Presidency to show greater respect for religious leaders.
Amaechi, who spoke during a television interview on Channels, said the Catholic bishops were justified in raising concerns about hardship in the country and the integrity of future elections during their meeting with President Tinubu.
According to him, “The reason the bishops went to the President was to discuss the hardship in the country, the state of the nation and issues of concern, including how fair INEC would be. What the President needs to do is reassure Nigerians that all political parties will slog it out in the field and that it will be a free and fair election.”
The former Rivers State governor faulted the Presidency’s criticism of Catholic leaders after the meeting, insisting there was nothing wrong with their comments.
He said: “Every public meeting with the President is public. The moment you allow cameras into the office, it is no longer private. If the President wanted a private meeting, there would be no cameras and no journalists.”
Amaechi maintained that the government’s response amounted to an attack on the Catholic Church.
“What the President and his men are doing is insulting my faith. They are insulting the Catholic Church,” he said.
He argued that Catholic bishops and cardinals deserve respect because of the positions they occupy in the Church.
“A cardinal is somebody who could have been Pope or someone who votes for Popes. When you insult a cardinal, you are insulting about 35 million Catholics. You look at me in my faith and say I don’t mean anything. My Church means nothing. My God means nothing to you,” he stated.
Rejecting claims that Catholic leaders were pursuing political interests, Amaechi said they were motivated by concern over worsening living conditions.
Speaking on Cardinal John Onaiyekan, he said: “He supports nobody. I’ve had several conversations with him. The only thing that pains him is the level of poverty, hardship and corruption in the country. He worries about Nigerians.”
Amaechi also defended the right of religious leaders to hold governments accountable.
According to him, “Religious leaders should criticise government. The Pope speaks on global issues, including wars. The Church has a responsibility to speak when people are suffering.”
He recalled that the Catholic Church criticised the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari over insecurity without attracting similar attacks from the government.
“When the Catholic Church came after Buhari, I was in Buhari’s government. We all kept quiet and looked at what we should do. We did not insult the bishops,” he said.
Amaechi urged the Presidency to refrain from statements capable of deepening religious divisions.
He said: “They should leave the Catholic Church alone. They should respect God, respect the Christian faith and respect our bishops. That is why I came out, despite mourning my mother, to appeal to the government to stop insulting Christians and the Catholic Church.”
The former minister added that he was deliberately avoiding partisan politics, saying he would address political issues after completing the mourning period for his late mother.
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