Catholic priests not like ‘fake bishops’, Atiku flays presidency’s attack on Onaiyekan

Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has condemned the Presidency’s attack on the Catholic Church and John Cardinal Onaiyekan, accusing the President Bola Tinubu administration of growing intolerant of dissent and uncomfortable truths.

In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu yesterday, Atiku said the Presidency chose intimidation and political attacks instead of reflecting on the substance of the cleric’s message.

Catholic bishops had recently had an engagement with the president, where the latter defended his record and the independence of the electoral umpire.

However, the cardinal in a television interview on Friday said the Catholic bishops told the president that the country is bleeding and the economy is not helping poor citizens.

According to him, Tinubu and his officials present at the meeting were “not looking very happy” with the speech, adding that it was a different speech from what the president usually listens to.

But the president slammed Onaiyekan, accusing him and the Catholic Church, among other things, of working for the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi.

Atiku suggested the Presidency’s response reflected a habit of surrounding itself with fake and compliant clerics allegedly used in the lead up to the 2023 general election, contrasting this with the independence of Catholic bishops.

“Perhaps the Presidency has become so accustomed to inviting ‘fake bishops’ that it now assumes every cleric can be recruited into political propaganda. But Catholic bishops are different. They are not political props, rented cheerleaders or praise singers. They are shepherds with a moral obligation to speak truth to power, regardless of whose interests are bruised. They cannot be used,” he said.

The former Vice President said the Catholic Church has historically served as a moral voice for the poor and vulnerable regardless of who occupies Aso Rock, and praised the bishops for confronting President Tinubu directly.

He described the Presidency’s commentary against Cardinal Onaiyekan as arrogant and unbecoming of government, accusing officials of attempting to distort the cleric’s engagement with the President.

According to him, what the media managers of the Tinubu administration attempted to do was to cancel and overwrite the voices of the Catholic Bishops by selectively editing and reframing their engagement with the president in order to manufacture a narrative favourable to the government.

He said Cardinal Onaiyekan’s decision to speak to the Press afterward was merely an effort to place the facts on record.

“A government confident in its record welcomes criticism because it provides an opportunity for reflection and improvement. Only an insecure government wages war against honest voices while rewarding those who tell it only what it wants to hear,” he said.

The former vice president noted that the Cardinal’s comments merely reflected the daily realities of hunger, insecurity, poverty, unemployment and the cost-of-living crisis confronting Nigerians, and that attacking him would not erase those realities.

Atiku demanded that the Presidency apologises to the Catholic Church, Cardinal Onaiyekan and Catholic faithful nationwide, warning that the administration would continue to face accusations of arrogance and intolerance until it did so.