“Cardinal Onaiyekan Was Speaking for Catholics, Not All Christians” — Presidential Aide, Daniel Bwala Counters Cleric’s Criticism of Tinubu

Presidential Special Adviser on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, has criticised Cardinal John Onaiyekan over his recent remarks on Nigeria’s economy and insecurity following the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN)’s meeting with President Bola Tinubu.

In a post shared on his X account on Saturday, Bwala argued that the cardinal’s comments reflected the position of the Catholic Church rather than the entire Christian community. He also stated that the Catholic institution largely supported Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi during the 2023 election, adding that not all Catholics shared that political preference.

Bwala further maintained that President Tinubu was justified in disagreeing with the bishops’ assessment of the economy, insisting the administration’s position is backed by facts and data.

He wrote: “Cardinal Onaiyekan, wasn’t speaking for Christian’s, he was speaking for Catholics, the very institutions rooting for Peter Obi infact likely the institution where Peter Obi also said in 2022 ‘take back your country’.”

“Therefore, Cardinal is more political than spiritual. And not all catholic members are supporting Peter Obi. The president @officialABAT was well within his right to disagree with their assertion as regards Nigeria’s economy based purely on facts, stats and numbers factored into context.”

He added: “Ironically, the same priest would rebuke their members if the members said ‘we are suffering or we are poor’ they would tell them to rather say ‘we are doing great and or we are rich even when they are suffering or poor’.”

Bwala concluded by saying: “There is a body comprising all Christian’s including the Catholics and Catholic Bishops’ Conference and that body’s position is neutral and should be so, otherwise it is political.”

About The Author

Osmek News

See author's posts