The Presidency has criticized John Cardinal Onaiyekan, Archbishop Emeritus of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, for publicly disclosing details of a closed-door meeting between President Bola Tinubu and the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN).
The delegation, led by CBCN President Most Rev. Matthew Ndagoso, met with President Tinubu at the State House to present critical areas of national concern, including security challenges, limited access to quality tertiary education, poverty, and the need for credible elections.
Speaking during an interview on Arise TV on Friday, Cardinal Onaiyekan recounted that the President disputed the bishops’ assessment of the nation’s economic realities. The cleric noted that President Tinubu insisted the economy was recovering and improving, suggesting that presidential aides may not be conveying an accurate picture of the economic hardship experienced by everyday citizens.
Onaiyekan added that the President’s facial expression during the session reflected clear dissatisfaction with the delegation’s critical feedback.In response, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, described Onaiyekan’s public commentary as an “abuse of clerical privilege” and a breach of confidentiality regarding a private engagement. The Presidency maintained that President Tinubu listened patiently to the delegation’s concerns but rightly pushed back against what it termed an incomplete and inaccurate representation of the country’s economic and security progress.
Source: https://leadership.ng/
