Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has stated that the Archbishop Emeritus of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan cannot claim impartiality in his criticism of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government, given his antecedents.
He pointed out that the cleric was not impartial during the 2023 general election, urging religious leaders to avoid partisanship, arguing that persistent negative comments could give the impression that one is opposed to the government for the fun of it.
Wike made the remarks during a media parley on Tuesday, responding to comments by Onaiyekan following a recent meeting between President Bola Tinubu and members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN).
During the meeting, Ndagoso presented the CBCN’s message to the president, raising concerns about the state of the nation and the economic hardship afflicting Nigerians.
Tinubu, however, defended the performance of his administration, saying the economy is stabilising and that the era of prolonged strikes by university lecturers has ended.
After the meeting, the cardinal said in an interview that those around Tinubu were presenting a “rosy picture” of the country’s situation to him and suggested that the President was already focused on securing victory in the 2027 presidential election.
According to him, Tinubu was unhappy and disagreed with the message delivered by the bishops. Onaiyekan said the clerics told the president that the country is bleeding and that the economy is dealing severe blows on the citizenry.
The presidency subsequently faulted Onaiyekan for disclosing details of the closed-door meeting, describing the action as an abuse of privilege.
Presidential spokesman, Daniel Bwala argued that Onaiyekan’s remarks did not represent the views of all Christians, alleging that the Catholic Church is “rooting for” the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, ahead of the 2027 election.
In his reaction, Wike argued that public comments from religious leaders should reflect balance, warning that persistent criticism without acknowledging government achievements could be viewed as politically motivated.
According to him, “If a religious leader is perceived or seen to be taking a side, which is very clear, it is very difficult for people to begin to see those comments as being helpful.
“I am aware of the position of Cardinal Onaiyekan; all of us know, it’s not hidden, whom he supports; everybody knows that.”
The former Rivers governor maintained that while it was appropriate to criticise government where necessary, leaders should also recognise areas where progress had been made.
His words, “It’s not every time you say things are bad; nobody has heard you say government has done this well.
“The point I am trying to make is that, as a leader, commend government when government has done well in certain areas; criticise government and say, look, you have done this well, but you should improve in these other areas.”
He added that if public interventions from a respected figure were consistently negative, the government would naturally conclude that the criticism stemmed from political opposition rather than objectivity.
When reminded that the bishops’ position was not partisan, Wike disagreed, insisting that religious leaders openly aligned with candidates during the last presidential election.
According to him, “Don’t tell me they’re not partisan. You know what happened in the 2023 election. People took sides, religious leaders took sides, it was very open.
“I would be stupid to sit here for anybody to tell me this person is impartial. No. We know ourselves in this country; we know who belongs to where. Who did they support in 2023? It was very obvious,” the minister added.
