African Democratic Congress (ADC) vice presidential candidate, Rotimi Amaechi, has accused President Bola Tinubu and his media team of insulting the Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, and the Catholic Church at large.
Amaechi, who spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today, was reacting to backlash from the Presidency following Onaiyekan’s comments after a meeting between President Tinubu and members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria.
The former Rivers State governor argued that Onaiyekan deserved to be accorded the same respect as a state governor, comparing the reach of Catholic dioceses to that of state government.
“I believe in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, so when a group of people insult my faith, then I must get up to defend it,” he said.
“When you look at the bishops of the Catholic Church and insult them, most bishops are equivalent to a governor of a state, and I will tell you why.
“The bishop of the Catholic Church in the Port Harcourt Diocese covers the entire Rivers State. What does the governor of Rivers State cover?
“The same thing. He covers the entire Rivers State. Like the bishop of Sokoto, he covers the entire Sokoto State. Now you look at him and insult him because he came to see the President.”
Amaechi also faulted the Presidency’s characterisation of the meeting as private, insisting that any engagement covered by cameras and press was inherently public.
“Look at the President’s statement. The President of a country tells the country that all is fair in politics. So, if a thug takes a gun and shoots me where I’m voting, is that fair?
“Every public meeting with the President is public. The moment you bring in cameras, it’s no longer private. I was once in the Presidency.
“If the President wants a private meeting with you, there will be no cameras, nobody will record you, and there will be no other person, just you and the President,” he said.
He took particular aim at presidential aides over their comments on the cardinal noting, “The issue is that what the President and his men are doing is that they are insulting my faith. They are insulting the Catholic Church.
“Listen to Bwala. You are insulting a Cardinal. A Cardinal is somebody who could have been Pope or somebody who has voted for Popes,” Amaechi said.
His defence of Onaiyekan followed earlier claims by FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, who alleged during a media parley that the cleric was not impartial during the 2023 general election.
“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 had said, adding: “I am aware of the position of Cardinal Onaiyekan; all of us know, it’s not hidden, whom he supports; everybody knows that.”
Amaechi dismissed the allegation, describing Onaiyekan as politically neutral.
“He supports nobody,” Amaechi declared. “I see Cardinal Onaiyekan regularly, I worship at his chapel.
“He has no political leaning, the Catholic Church has no political leaning. Cardinal Onaiyekan himself supports nobody,” he said.
He added that his conversations with the cardinal over the years centred on the country’s worsening socio-economic conditions rather than partisan politics.
“I’ve had several conversations with him, the only thing that pains him is the level of indiscretion and poverty in the country,” he said.
Amaechi revealed he had to suspend the traditional mourning period for his late mother to appear on the programme, saying he considered it necessary to defend his Christian faith amid the controversy.
He also brushed aside separate remarks by Wike, who had claimed Atiku Abubakar picked him as running mate because of money and that he held no political value in Rivers State.
“I don’t respond to my subordinate,” he said, adding, “Wike never hired me.
“By the time I finish mourning and go into campaign, anybody that insults me, I will insult him back,” Amaechi said.
(The Whistler)
