Presidential aide Daniel Bwala has said Cardinal John Onaiyekan was expressing the views of the Catholic Church, not those of the entire Christian community, following the cleric’s comments after the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) met with President Bola Tinubu.
Bwala made the remarks in a post on his X account while reacting to the debate sparked by Onaiyekan’s television interview on the state of the nation.
According to the Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communication, the Catholic Church openly supported Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, during the 2023 general election, and that context should be considered when assessing the Cardinal’s comments.
“Cardinal Onaiyekan wasn’t speaking for Christians; he was speaking for Catholics, the very institution rooting for Peter Obi. In fact, likely the institution where Peter Obi also said in 2022, ‘Take back your country.’ Therefore, Cardinal is more political than spiritual,” Bwala wrote.
He, however, noted that not every Catholic supported Obi, stressing that the Cardinal’s views should not be taken as representing all members of the church.
Bwala also defended President Tinubu’s response to the bishops’ assessment of Nigeria’s economy, insisting that the President had every right to disagree.
“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.
The presidential aide further argued that Christianity in Nigeria extends beyond the Catholic Church and that the broader Christian body should remain politically neutral.
“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 added.
His comments come amid ongoing reactions to the recent meeting between President Tinubu and Catholic bishops, where national issues, including the economy and governance, were discussed.
