The Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, has declined to respond to criticisms by the Presidency insisting that the Catholic Bishops have already delivered their message to the President and are only interested in whether it will influence governance.
The latest remarks follow an exchange between the Presidency and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) after the bishops met President Bola Tinubu at the State House, Abuja, on July 28, 2026, to present their assessment of the country’s economy and security.
Following the meeting, Cardinal John Onaiyekan disclosed in a television interview that President Tinubu disagreed with the bishops’ assessment, insisting that his administration’s economic reforms were yielding positive results.
The disclosure drew reactions from presidential aides, including the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, Daniel Bwala, who argued that Onaiyekan spoke only for the Catholic Church and not for Christians generally. Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga also rejected the bishops’ assessment of the economy and insecurity, maintaining that the administration’s policies were putting the country on the path to recovery.
In a statement titled Cardinal Onaiyekan’s Abuse of Clerical Privilege, Presidential Adviser Temitope Ajayi also said it was inappropriate for the Catholic cleric to publicly give his account of the closed-door meeting with the President.
However, speaking on Monday during an exclusive interview on Frontline, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, Ogun State, Onaiyekan said the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria had no intention of engaging in a public exchange with government spokespersons following its recent meeting with President Bola Tinubu.
Onaiyekan rejected suggestions that the bishops were speaking only for Catholics, saying their intervention was based on a moral responsibility to all Nigerians.
“We didn’t go there just as Catholic bishops pushing the Catholic agenda. No. We went there as people who are with the spiritual mandate to speak to anybody in the name of God.”
Asked to respond to the Presidency’s reaction, Onaiyekan refused to engage in the controversy rather he stated
“I would not even answer that question. We have no response for them. We have spoken and the only response we are waiting for is whether it is affecting the way they are governing. That some of the supporters of government and the state and spokesperson may have their own idea about what they think they should be saying on behalf of their principal, is their business, not mine”
“As for response to the things that we are hearing, I don’t even have to say anything because the social media is full of response from the Nigerian people and that for me is more than enough.”
Onaiyekan explained that the audience with President Tinubu was initiated by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria after months of waiting for approval. According to him, the meeting was neither intended as an evangelistic mission nor an attempt to advance the interests of the Catholic Church, but rather an opportunity to present the bishops’ concerns about governance and the welfare of Nigerians as part of their pastoral responsibility.
“The Bishops visited President Tinubu last week and we requested for audience. It took some months before we were granted the audience and we prepared to see him, and the main reason why we wanted to see him was not to go on an evangelical mission. We didn’t go there to preach to him and try to see whether we could convert him to our Catholic Church, but we went there to share our views and thoughts about the government which he heads and hoping that our ideas will be taken into consideration, So that is what took us to the statehouse.” he explained.
The Cardinal expressed hope that the government would remain open to further engagement on issues affecting Nigerians.
“We are hoping that our meeting with the President or our dialogue with the government of Nigeria did not end with that visit,” he said.
He added that the bishops were still expecting government to create another opportunity for a more detailed conversation.
“We are hoping that somehow or the other, he will invite us, not necessarily to meet him, I mean President Tinubu, but at least to open up fairness for us to give more information, more concerns that we have, than we could give in the ten minutes talk that we gave to him”
Onaiyekan maintained that the bishops had no partisan political ambitions and challenged government to focus on the substance of their message rather than the personalities behind it.
He said: “I have told you already that I am not even prepared to start engaging anybody. Don’t forget that I was not defending my own thesis. The document was prepared by the bishops of Nigeria, and we are a big number, and it was passed unanimously. We don’t have any political ambitions for anything. Even our church does not even allow us to get engaged in party politics. So, even if I wanted to be a presidential candidate, I can’t be”
On the economy, Onaiyekan acknowledged government’s emphasis on macroeconomic indicators but argued that improvements should ultimately be measured by the quality of life experienced by ordinary Nigerians.
“If we admit that the role of government is the welfare of citizens, then it means we are not going to judge the success of our government on the basis of the statistics from GDP, from World Bank, or whatever. The important thing is, what, how is the life of the Nigerian?”
He described youth unemployment as one of the country’s gravest challenges, warning that many graduates remain unable to build stable lives despite years of education.
“The terrible thing now is many of our young people that have struggled to finish university, are all going around with their degrees. They are unable to get a job. Therefore, they can’t even think of marriage. They can’t think of starting a family. They can’t think of planning their life. That is terrible, “the cardinal lamented.
Onaiyekan warned that Nigeria was facing the risk of widespread frustration among young people.
He argued that addressing the country’s problems required political will, honesty and fairness rather than expensive interventions.
“The only thing it takes is a political will to do the right thing, to be honest in how government is run, to be just to everybody, to be fair in this.” he emphasised.
Onaiyekan also expressed hope that other Christian and Muslim leaders would engage the government on issues affecting citizens, saying collective action was needed to address the country’s challenges.
“We are hoping that our message will be shared by other religious leaders in Nigeria, first other Christians in the context of CAN, and indeed other believers, including our Muslim religious leaders. It would be wonderful if we could organize a meeting with Mr. President and all the religious leaders in Nigeria, talking together,” he said.
