The Presidency has dismissed comments by Cardinal John Onaiyekan criticising the administration of President Bola Tinubu, insisting that the Catholic cleric was expressing a personal and political opinion rather than speaking on behalf of Christians in Nigeria.
Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communication, made the remarks in a post on his X account on Saturday.
Bwala’s comments came in response to Onaiyekan’s criticism of the Tinubu administration after the recent visit of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, CBCN, to the President.
The cardinal had accused the government of being more focused on winning by all means than addressing the country’s challenges.
Reacting, Bwala alleged that Onaiyekan was speaking for the Catholic Church and not the entire Christian community, claiming that the institution largely supported Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, during the 2023 election.
He argued that the cardinal’s comments were political rather than spiritual, adding that not all Catholics supported Obi during the election.
According to Bwala, President Tinubu was within his rights to disagree with the bishops’ assessment of Nigeria’s economy, maintaining that the administration’s position was backed by “facts, statistics and numbers.”
The presidential spokesman also contended that there is a broader Christian body comprising different denominations, including the Catholic Church and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, whose position, he said, should remain neutral rather than political.
Bwala said: “Cardinal Onaiyekan, wasn’t speaking for Christian’s, he was speaking for Catholics, the very institutions rooting for Peter Obi @PeterObi infact 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. The president @officialABAT was well within his right to disagree with their assertion as regards Nigeria’s economy based purely on facts, stats and numbers factored into context.
“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”
“There is a body comprising all Christian’s including the Catholics and catholic bishops conference and that body’s position is neutral and should be so, otherwise it is political.”
Onaiyekan not speaking for Christians, Catholics supporting Peter Obi – Presidency