Presidency Berates Onaiyekan Over Bishops’ Meeting With Tinubu
The Presidency has criticised Cardinal John Onaiyekan, Archbishop Emeritus of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, over his public account of a closed-door meeting between President Bola Tinubu and members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), describing his television interview as an inappropriate breach of confidentiality.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, said it was fundamentally inappropriate for the Catholic cleric to grant a television interview offering his own account and interpretation of what transpired during the private engagement, calling it, in his view, an abuse of clerical privilege.
The CBCN, led by its president, Matthew Ndagoso, had met with President Tinubu on Thursday to outline concerns spanning several national issues, including insecurity, the quality and limited spaces available in tertiary education, sustaining democratic gains, credible elections, and poverty. Following the meeting, Cardinal Onaiyekan, who was part of the visiting delegation, gave an interview to Arise TV in which he recounted how the president had pushed back against the bishops’ assessment of the state of the nation, reportedly telling the clerics that things were working well despite their concerns over the country’s worsening economic situation. Onaiyekan also claimed that people around Tinubu were presenting him with a “rosy picture” of the country, and said the bishops felt duty-bound to present the president with the realities confronting ordinary Nigerians.
Ajayi rejected the characterisation, arguing that when Tinubu reminded the bishops of certain facts during the meeting, he was not being aloof or dismissive but was presenting evidence to support his position that the country was not standing still, adding that a disagreement over facts should not be interpreted as arrogance. On security specifically, where the bishops had described Nigeria as “bleeding,” Ajayi said the president did not deny the seriousness of the situation but instead outlined gains recorded by the armed forces and intelligence agencies, noting that as commander-in-chief, Tinubu receives operational briefings and intelligence assessments unavailable to the general public.
The presidential aide further stated that the bishops were freely permitted to present their concerns on the economy, security, education, and democracy, and that Tinubu listened patiently before responding point by point to each issue raised. According to Ajayi, on the bishops’ request for the return of mission schools to their original church owners, the president noted this was primarily a matter for state governments, while recalling that he had returned mission schools to their owners during his tenure as Lagos State governor. Ajayi also quoted the president as saying the country had emerged from a difficult period, that his administration had laid the foundations for recovery, and that the next phase would be ensuring more Nigerians feel the benefits of that recovery.
Ajayi added that public access granted in privileged settings should be exercised with discretion, arguing it should not be converted into a platform for post-meeting commentary, and noted that the president already has multiple channels through which he receives feedback on the state of the nation, including newspapers, television, security and economic briefings, and associates across different regions and professions.
The disagreement highlights an emerging friction between the presidency and members of the Catholic clergy over how private engagements with the government are subsequently discussed in public, as concerns over Nigeria’s economic and security situation continue to dominate national discourse ahead of the 2027 general election.
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