The Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, has declined to respond to criticisms by the Presidency, insisting that Catholic Bishops have already delivered their message to the President and were only interested in whether it would influence governance.
The latest remarks followed 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.
However, speaking in an exclusive interview with Frontline, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu in Ogun State, yesterday, 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 Tinubu.
He rejected suggestions that the bishops were speaking only for Catholics, saying their intervention was based on a moral responsibility to all Nigerians.
He said: “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.”
