Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, has said Cardinal John Onaiyekan was speaking for Catholics and not the entire Christian community in his comments on the state of the nation.
Bwala stated this in a post on his X handle while reacting to the controversy surrounding Onaiyekan’s television interview after the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria’s meeting with President Tinubu.
The presidential aide alleged that the Catholic institution had shown support for the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, during the 2023 general election, arguing that the Cardinal’s comments should be viewed from that perspective.
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“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 stated.
He added that not all Catholic faithful support Obi, stressing that the views expressed by the Cardinal did not represent the position of every member of the church.
Bwala defended President Tinubu’s response to the bishops’ assessment of the country’s economic situation, saying the President was entitled to disagree based on available facts, statistics and data.
“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 also criticised what he described as a contradiction in some religious teachings, saying some clerics encourage members to maintain a positive outlook despite personal challenges.
He argued that there is a broader Christian body comprising different denominations, including Catholics, whose position remains neutral and should not be turned into a political platform.
“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.
