Archbishop Emeritus of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, has accused the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of being determined to retain power in the 2027 general election by every possible means.
Onaiyekan made the remarks during an interview with Arise News on Friday while speaking on the recent meeting between President Tinubu and members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) at the State House in Abuja.
The cleric said members of the CBCN were concerned that the government appeared focused on securing victory in the next election, warning that failure to conduct a free and fair poll could create serious problems for the country.
“We are worried about the fact that we see clearly that our government is bent on winning by all means.”
He added that, “Unfortunately they have a lot of means at their disposal and they’re deploying all those means in a way that eventually, even with a free and fair election the votes of the people may not count.”
He said the bishops also informed the President that Nigerians were facing severe economic hardship, but Tinubu rejected their assessment of the country’s situation.
“When the nation is bleeding, you cannot expect a polite meeting with the Head of State. We had to let him know. And his reply is that the nation is not bleeding. We told him the economy is not helping our poor people; he told us the economy is doing fine. Frankly speaking, he told us quite clearly that he did not agree with us.
“Again, we were not surprised. We didn’t expect him to agree with us. We have done our duty, we have delivered our message, and we have a feeling that somehow, along the line, somebody will show him a few of the things we said,” he said.