. President bent on winning the 2027 election, says cleric
. You are speaking for Catholics, not Christians, Bwala tackles Onaiyekan
Chuks Okocha in Abuja
The Presidency yesterday tackled the Archbishop Emeritus of the Catholic Diocese of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, on his accusation that President Bola Tinubu’s administration was bent on winning the 2027 elections by all means.
Speaking during an interview on ARISE NEWS’ Prime Time program on Friday night, Cardinal Onaiyekan had expressed concern over what he described as the federal government’s apparent determination to retain Tinubu in power in the 2027 general election at all costs.
Onaiyekan claimed that Tinubu rejected the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria’s assessment of the economy and insecurity when the bishops met the President at the State House, Abuja, on July 28.
But in a swift response, the Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Media and Public Communications, Daniel Bwala, faulted Cardinal Onaiyekan over his comments on the economy and insecurity, stressing that the cleric was speaking for Catholics and not all Christians.
Cardinal John Onaiyekan accused those around President Tinubu of painting a “rosy picture” of the country for him, contrary to the true state of the nation.
The respected cleric warned that unless Nigeria strengthens its electoral process, the outcome of future elections may not truly reflect the will of the people.
Onaiyekan said there were growing fears that the current administration was leveraging incumbency to undermine the credibility of the electoral process.
According to him, although President Tinubu had repeatedly maintained that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was neutral, many Nigerians still had concerns about the commission’s neutrality and whether the electoral body could conduct elections that were completely free and fair.
“We’re worried about the fact that President Tinubu’s administration is bent on winning the 2027 elections by all means,” the cleric said.
He added that the government has enormous powers at its disposal. He warned that those powers could be used in ways that might prevent the votes of ordinary Nigerians from counting, even if the election itself appears free and fair.
“Unfortunately, they have a lot of means at their disposal, and they’re deploying all those means in a way that eventually, even with a free and fair election, the votes of the people may not count,” he stated.
The former Catholic Archbishop stressed that Nigeria must urgently reform its electoral system to ensure credible elections that reflect voters’ genuine choice.
He also cautioned against the country drifting towards a one-party state, saying such a development would not strengthen democracy.
According to him, while it is understandable that a sitting president would seek re-election, the advantage of incumbency should not be used to compromise the electoral process.
“Of course, we are not expecting Mr President to help the opposition defeat him. But the point we are raising is that even though the president has all the powers of incumbency, he is in the election. He is a candidate like any other person,” Onaiyekan added.
The cleric maintained that only transparent, free and credible elections would preserve public confidence in Nigeria’s democracy ahead of the 2027 polls.
You Are Speaking for Catholics, Not Christians, Bwala Tackles Onaiyekan
Reacting on X yesterday, the Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Media and Public Communications, Bwala, argued that the cleric spoke only for the Catholic Church and not for Christians as a whole.
Bwala said Onaiyekan’s position aligned with institutions he claimed were rooting for the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2027 presidential election, Mr Peter Obi.
He noted that Obi had made his “take back your country” remark in 2022 within Catholic circles.
“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, the Cardinal is more political than spiritual. And not all Catholic members are supporting Peter Obi,” Bwala wrote.
The presidential aide insisted that Tinubu was entitled to disagree with the bishops’ position.
“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.
Bwala also accused the cleric of inconsistency, saying priests who criticised the government’s economic narrative would silence their own members for making similar complaints.
“Ironically, the same priest would rebuke their members if the members said ‘we are suffering or we are poor.’ They would tell them rather to say ‘we are doing great and/or we are rich’ even when they are suffering or poor,” he said.
He further argued that a broader body representing all Christians, including Catholics, already existed and that its neutrality was being undermined.
“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,” Bwala said.