Amaechi accuses Tinubu, aides of disrespecting Onaiyekan, Catholic Church

The presidential running mate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Rotimi Amaechi, has accused President Bola Tinubu and members of his media team of showing disrespect to the Catholic Church through their comments about the Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan.

Amaechi made the allegation on Tuesday while speaking on Politics Today, a programme on Channels Television, following the controversy that trailed Cardinal Onaiyekan’s remarks after a recent meeting between President Tinubu and members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria.

He argued that senior Catholic clerics deserved the same level of respect accorded to top public office holders, noting that bishops oversee entire dioceses in the same way governors administer states.

According to the former Rivers State governor, criticisms directed at Onaiyekan and other Catholic bishops amounted to an attack on his faith and the church.

“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. When you look at the bishops of the Catholic Church and insult them, most bishops are equivalent to a governor of a state,” he said.

Amaechi also questioned comments credited to the President that “all is fair in politics,” arguing that such a position could be interpreted as justifying violence during elections.

He further maintained that any meeting attended by cameras and the media could not be regarded as private, insisting that truly confidential engagements with the President would be held without public coverage or recordings.

The former minister also criticised presidential spokesperson Daniel Bwala, saying his remarks about Cardinal Onaiyekan amounted to disrespect for a senior Catholic cleric, whom he described as a church leader of global standing with the responsibility of participating in the election of a Pope.