Presidency Knows Catholic Bishops Mirrored Current Realities – Sagay

Former Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Prof Itse Sagay (SAN), has advised the Presidency against dismissing the position of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), saying their Lordships may have conveyed the general feeling of the time.

Sagay’s position is the latest addition to the dust that attended the visit of the Catholic Bishops to President Bola Tinubu last week, during which session the religious leaders had tasked government on the urgent and compelling need to address, more aggressively the economic realities occasioned by poverty, hunger and insecurity.

The emeritus Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, had given an insight into the meeting with the President.

During an interview on national television after the visit, Onaiyekan had said, inter alia: “I was not surprised that he was not looking very happy nor even his colleagues who were there. “We knew that this is different from the kind of statements that our President keeps receiving from all kinds of people.

“And that is one of the things that worries us, that there are so many people hanging around Mr President giving a rosy picture of what the country is, which it is not.” In its reaction, the Presidency had taken exception to the outing, accusing the bishops of being “notably acerbic in their submission.”

The statement reads in part: “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.

“The bishops requested an audience with the President. He granted the audience graciously. They presented, as was their right, a catalogue of the country’s economic, social, and security challenges as they saw them. Except for their grudging acknowledgement of the benefits of NELFUND, they were dismissive of the other great things the administration accomplished. The bishops were notably acerbic in their submission, but the President listened to them patiently and responded.

“That should ordinarily have been where the matter rested. None of the issues raised by the bishops is beyond scrutiny or rebuttal. Their assessment is neither scripture nor an article of faith. It is a perspective, and perspectives can be challenged with facts and evidence.” However, offering his perspective on the development, the learned silk said the religious leaders echoed the experiences of the ordinary Nigerians.

Speaking with New Telegraph, Sagay said: “Well, obviously, what the Catholic Bishops went to say is something that we are all experiencing. There is nothing new. “And I’m sure all the powers that be in this country know it. I mean, on the surface, they may be defensive. But I know in their hearts, they know a lot has gone wrong; a lot needs to be done.

“And I believe that they will take the advice, even though not publicly, before the Catholic Bishops and look into the issues they have raised and see how they can improve the conditions of life of Nigerians.” He, nonetheless, acknowledged the right of the President to seek re-election, urging the government to consider the issues raised, with a view addressing them for the overall good of the people.(New Telegraph)