Former Minister of Transportation and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) vice-presidential candidate for the 2027 election, Rotimi Amaechi, has accused the Presidency of attempting to intimidate Archbishop Emeritus of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, over his criticism of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Amaechi made the allegation on Tuesday during an appearance on Politics Today on Channels Television while reacting to the controversy surrounding comments made by the cleric after a recent meeting between President Tinubu and members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN).
Defending the Cardinal against claims of political bias, Amaechi insisted that Onaiyekan was not campaigning for any political party or candidate but was speaking out about the worsening hardship, poverty and corruption affecting Nigerians.
“He supports nobody. I see Cardinal Onaiyekan regularly; I worship in his private chapel. Cardinal Onaiyekan himself supports nobody.
“I have had several conversations with him. The only thing that pains him is the level of indiscretion and poverty in the country and corruption. He worries about that,” Amaechi said.
The former Rivers State governor dismissed suggestions that the Cardinal’s comments were politically motivated, arguing that they reflected genuine concern for the country’s condition.
“I just think that they tried to intimidate him, because election is very far away, so they are trying to intimidate him the way they are trying to intimidate the population,” he said.
Amaechi maintained that religious leaders have a responsibility to speak out whenever they believe the government is failing the people, adding that Onaiyekan had done nothing wrong by expressing his views publicly.
He also faulted the Presidency’s response to the Cardinal’s remarks, saying government officials should engage respected religious leaders constructively instead of attempting to silence them.
The dispute followed a meeting between President Tinubu and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, after which Cardinal Onaiyekan said the bishops informed the President that many Nigerians were grappling with severe economic hardship and that the country was “bleeding.”
The Presidency criticised the Cardinal for revealing details of the closed-door meeting, accusing him of breaching confidentiality and defending the administration’s economic reforms.
The controversy has since attracted reactions from several political figures, including Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike, who questioned Onaiyekan’s neutrality, and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who defended the cleric and urged the government to focus on addressing the country’s economic and security challenges.
