You Lack Maturity – Presidency Tells Cardinal Onaiyekan

The Presidency has strongly criticised Cardinal John Onaiyekan, the Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, stating that clerical office requires maturity, temperance, and self-restraint, which it said he lacks.

The followed an interview he granted after a visit by the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.Nigerian Diaspora Information

The Catholic bishops, including Cardinal Onaiyekan, were briefed by Tinubu after they made their submissions, which included issues that covered the economy, security, and return of schools to the missionaries.

But appearing on Arise TV after the visit, Cardinal Onaiyekan criticised the Tinubu administration’s  economic policies and electoral integrity.

He publicly stated that everyday Nigerians are facing immense economic hardship.

He warned that if the current policies continue, the President’s re-election prospects for 2027 will be heavily jeopardised in a free and fair election.

Reacting in an opinion article, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, said it was inappropriate for the Catholic cleric to publicly give his account of the closed-door meeting with Tinubu.

The opinion article, titled: “Cardinal Onaiyekan’s Abuse of Clerical Privilege,” has been published by The Eagle Online and can be read in full at: https://theeagleonline.com.ng/cardinal-onaiyekans-abuse-of-clerical-privilege-by-temitope-ajayi/Nigerian News Subscription

Ajayi argued that private discussions with the President demanded mutual respect and confidentiality.

The presidential aide criticised the Cardinal for going straight to national television to share details of the private meeting, calling it an inappropriate use of clerical privilege.

He wrote: “There is something fundamentally inappropriate about Cardinal John Onaiyekan granting a television interview to offer his own account and interpretation of what transpired during the private meeting between the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria and President Bola Tinubu.

“It is, in my view, an abuse of clerical privilege.”Nigerian Diaspora Information

According to the seasoned journalist, the Bishops had requested the audience with the President and presented concerns about Nigeria’s economic, social, and security challenges.

Ajayi said Tinubu listened patiently before responding to each issue raised.

The Presidency said the President challenged the Bishops’ assessment of the country’s situation, arguing that it did not fully reflect progress made by his administration.

He wrote: “He acknowledged that significant economic and security challenges remain.

“His point was that the country has emerged from ‘a dark tunnel’, that his administration has laid the foundations for recovery and that the next phase is to ensure the greatest number of Nigerians feels the gains.”

On the bishops’ call for the return of mission schools, the Presidential Adviser said Tinubu reminded them the matter falls under the jurisdiction of state governments, adding that he returned mission schools while serving as governor of Lagos State.

Tinubu also defended the administration’s economic record at the meeting, Ajayi wrote, saying the government had restored fiscal stability and improved salary and pension payments across many states.

He added: “So when President Tinubu reminded the bishops of these facts during the meeting, he was not, as Cardinal Onaiyekan later suggested, being aloof or dismissive.

“He was presenting evidence to support his argument that the country is not standing still.

“A disagreement over facts should not be interpreted as arrogance.”

On security, the Presidency rejected the bishops’ assessment that Nigeria is bleeding, saying the President acknowledged existing challenges while relying on intelligence and operational reports available to him as Commander-in-Chief.

“As Commander-in-Chief, he receives operational briefings, intelligence assessments, and battlefield reports unavailable to the general public,” Ajayi wrote.

He also dismissed suggestions that Tinubu depended on external critics to understand the country’s realities, saying the President receives daily intelligence reports, reads newspapers, watches television discussions, and maintains wide-ranging contacts across Nigeria.Nigerian Diaspora Information

The Presidential Adviser maintained that while the bishops were entitled to present their concerns, the confidentiality of the meeting should have been respected.

He wrote: “Reciprocity should have dictated that the confidentiality and dignity of that engagement be preserved.

“As such, it was inappropriate for one of the participants to emerge almost immediately on national television to provide his own version of what was essentially a private conversation with the president.

“Public influence should be exercised with discretion, not by converting privileged access into a platform for post-meeting commentary.”