The Presidency has criticised representatives of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) over their comments following a recent meeting with President Bola Tinubu, insisting that the clerics do not hold a monopoly on assessing the state of the nation.
According to CDA News Nigeria, the Presidency also faulted the Archbishop Emeritus of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, for publicly discussing details of the closed-door meeting, describing the disclosure as inappropriate and inconsistent with the confidentiality expected of such engagements.
In separate statements issued on Saturday, presidential aides Temitope Ajayi and Daniel Bwala defended President Tinubu’s response to concerns raised by the bishops on the economy, insecurity and governance. They argued that the clerics’ assessment represented one perspective and was open to debate and rebuttal.
The Presidency’s reaction followed comments made by Cardinal Onaiyekan during an interview on Arise Television, where he disclosed that members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference told the President that Nigerians were facing worsening economic hardship, insecurity and democratic challenges.
According to the cardinal, President Tinubu disagreed with the bishops’ assessment and maintained that his administration was making progress in addressing the nation’s challenges.
CDA News Nigeria reports that neither the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria nor Cardinal Onaiyekan had issued a further response to the Presidency’s latest remarks as of the time of filing this report.
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