Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, has declared that the leadership of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) did not visit President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to convert him to Catholicism.
He specifically said that the bishops met Tinubu on July 28, 2026 at the Aso Rock Villa to raise concerns on Nigeria’s economy, security and the hardship being experienced by Nigerians.
Onaiyekan also said the CBCN is not prepared nor has intention whatsoever to respond presidential spokespersons, but wants another chance for deeper talks beyond their ten-minute presentation.
In his words; “That some of the supporters of government and the state and spokespersons may have their own idea about what they think they should be saying on behalf of their principal, is their business, not mine”.
The Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, who stated these while responding to the barrage of criticisms from the presidency on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu in Ogun State on Monday, August 3, 2026, emphasised that the bishops have delivered their message in an unambiguous manner to President Tinubu and were only interested in whether it would influence governance.
The Catholic bishops met with President Tinubu at the State House, Abuja, on July 28, 2026 during which they spoke on Nigeria’s economy and security.
While speaking on a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Onaiyekan pointedly rejected insinuations that the bishops spoke only for Catholics, stressing that their intervention was based on a moral responsibility to all Nigerians.
In the words of Onaiyekan; “We didn’t go there just as Catholic bishops pushing a Catholic agenda, no! We went there as people who are with the spiritual mandate to speak to anybody in the name of God”.
When asked to comment on the Presidency’s reaction and criticisms, Cardinal Onaiyekan said he does not want to get involved in the controversy.
He said; “I would not even answer that question. We have no response for them. We have spoken, and the only response we are waiting for is whether it is affecting the way they are governing.
“As for response to the things we are hearing, I don’t even have to say anything because the social media is full of response from Nigerian people and that for me is more than enough”.
Onaiyekan said that the visit to the President was initiated by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria after months of waiting for approval, adding that the meeting was neither intended as an evangelistic mission nor an attempt to advance the interests of the Catholic Church.
According to Onaiyekan; “It was an opportunity to present the bishops’ concerns about governance and welfare of Nigerians as part of their pastoral responsibility.
“The bishops visited President Tinubu last week and we requested for audience. It took some months before we were granted the audience, and we prepared to see him, and the main reason we wanted to see him was not to go on an evangelical mission.
‘’We didn’t go there to preach to him and try to see whether we could convert him to our Catholic Church, but we went there to share our views and thoughts about the government which he heads, hoping that our ideas will be taken into consideration. So, that is what took us to the statehouse,” he stated.
While expressing the hope that the government would remain open to further engagement on issues affecting Nigerians, Onaiyekan said the bishops hoped that their meeting with the President or the dialogue with the government of Nigeria did not end with the visit.
The Cardinal further said that the bishops were still expecting the government to create another opportunity for a more detailed conversation, to give more information, more concerns that we have, than we could give in the ten-minute talk that we gave to him.
