The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has criticised the Archbishop Emeritus of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, saying the cleric supported a particular candidate during the 2023 general election.
Wike spoke on Tuesday during a media parley while responding to comments by Onaiyekan following a recent meeting between President Bola Tinubu and members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN).
After the meeting, the cardinal said in an interview that those around President 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.
The Presidency criticised Onaiyekan for publicly discussing details of the closed-door meeting, describing the disclosure as an abuse of privilege.
Reacting to the controversy, Wike argued that public comments by religious leaders should be balanced, saying that consistent criticism without acknowledging government achievements could be interpreted as politically motivated.
“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,” Wike said.
“I am aware of the position of Cardinal Onaiyekan; all of us know, it’s not hidden, whom he supports; everybody knows that.”
The FCT minister maintained that while criticism of government was legitimate, leaders should also recognise areas where progress had been made.
“It’s not every time you say things are bad; nobody has heard you say government has done this well,” he said.
“The point I am trying to make is that, as a leader, you should commend the government when it has done well in certain areas; criticise the government and say, look, you have done this well, but you should improve in these other areas.”
According to Wike, when a respected public figure consistently focuses on government shortcomings, it becomes difficult for the administration to view such criticism as objective.
He also rejected suggestions that the Catholic bishops remained non-partisan during the 2023 elections.
“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,” he said.
“I would be stupid to sit here and let anybody 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,” Wike added.
(Ripples)