A northern Christian body on Sunday defended Catholic bishops who met President Bola Tinubu, accusing a presidential adviser of trying to divide the Christian community.
The Northern Christian Association (NCA) said the bishops had spoken for Christians and Nigerians at large when they raised concerns over insecurity and economic hardship during their recent encounter with the president.
NCA chairman Rev. Joseph Hayab issued a statement rejecting comments attributed to Daniel Bwala, the president’s special adviser on media and public communications. He warned against efforts to set one denomination against another.
“We should tell Bwala to know that Catholics are Christians and Nigerians,” Hayab said. “Our members are Catholics, Baptists, ECWA, Methodists, Anglicans, Pentecostals and people of all denominations. We refuse to be divided by Bwala’s politics of division.”
He described Cardinal John Onaiyekan and the visiting bishops as respected leaders who had offered honest counsel in the national interest, not on matters limited to the Catholic Church.
“Our Cardinal is our respected leader, and the bishops that visited the President went to speak to him about humanity, Christians and all of us, not only Catholics,” Hayab added.
The cleric called it “shameful and a disservice” to Tinubu for his spokesman to disrespect the cardinal. “An honest counsel has been given to Mr President for his own good and for a better Nigeria.”
Hayab criticised government officials who, he said, prefer propaganda over confronting the country’s problems. “Any voice of greed, propaganda or disconnect with the citizens by any government appointee like Bwala should be seen as those destroying the country for their selfish interest,” he said.
He stressed that if conditions fail to improve, “we shall all suffer together.” The association, he added, is confident the bishops “mean well and love the President and the country more than those insulting their honest counsel.”
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria had urged the federal government to act more decisively against insecurity and economic hardship. Bwala’s reported reaction to the meeting drew criticism from several Christian groups.
