A former senior official of ruling All Progressives Congress has praised the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria for openly confronting President Bola Tinubu over the state of the economy and democratic concerns.
Timi Frank, once deputy national publicity secretary of the APC, said in a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday that the bishops showed rare courage by telling the president what he called “the bitter truth” about the country’s condition.
“We commend the Catholic leaders for their courage. We have not seen this kind of courage from religious leaders in Nigeria for a long time. They were brave enough to look the president in the face and tell him the bitter truth,” Frank stated.
The bishops had raised issues including economic hardship and what they described as a drift toward a one-party state during a recent meeting with Tinubu at the Presidential Villa. Frank urged the president to take their advice seriously, saying it would help him “save himself from embarrassment.”
He called on other Christian and Muslim leaders to follow the Catholic bishops’ example by speaking truth to power and demanding accountability.
Frank criticised some religious figures, particularly certain Pentecostal leaders, for what he said was a reluctance to challenge the government after visits to the Villa. “Unfortunately, some religious leaders, particularly some Pentecostal leaders, go to the Villa, drink tea with the President, and forget what they went there to say. They come back with envelopes and the story becomes different,” he said.
“When they have the opportunity to tell the president the truth, they simply say they are praying for him. But they know the truth. They know the damage that has been done in this country. How long will they continue to sit and pray when they should be speaking the truth?”
Frank appealed to religious leaders across faiths to be more forthright in addressing the nation’s challenges.
