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'Tinubu Has No Respect For Catholic Church, Christian Faith; He's Sending Attack Dogs Against Church' –Amaechi
'Tinubu Has No Respect For Catholic Church, Christian Faith; He's Sending Attack Dogs Against Church' –Amaechi
POLITICS
The Nigerian Record
8/5/20264 min read
Former Minister of Transportation and African Democratic Congress (ADC) vice presidential candidate, Rotimi Amaechi, has accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of showing disrespect for the Catholic Church and the Christian faith, alleging that the President was deploying "attack dogs" to intimidate and silence the church over its criticism of the country's worsening economic hardship and insecurity.
Amaechi made the remarks on Tuesday evening during an appearance on Politics Today, a programme aired on Channels Television and anchored by Seun Okinbaloye.
During the interview, the former Rivers State governor condemned "attacks against Christian leaders and the Catholic Church," insisting that religious institutions have a constitutional and moral responsibility to speak out against bad governance, rising poverty and the deteriorating security situation in Nigeria.
According to Amaechi, the Catholic Church should not be intimidated into silence for speaking on issues affecting Nigerians.
"Because he's sending out attack dogs against the church, he has no respect for the Catholic Church, and they have no respect and regard for the Christian faith," Amaechi said.
He argued that Christian leaders must continue to preach against the policies of the current administration, especially in light of the economic hardship and insecurity confronting millions of Nigerians.
"The church must begin to preach against this government for poverty and for insecurity and all that," he said.
When asked during the interview whether the same treatment would have been meted out if similar criticisms had come from the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa'ad Abubakar III, who is widely regarded as the spiritual leader of Nigerian Muslims, Amaechi suggested that such a scenario would have been handled differently.
"Exactly, would they have insulted him?" he asked.
He further noted that Islamic clerics regularly criticise government actions during sermons without facing similar attacks.
"Is it the first time? Today, in the mosque, there are people preaching about what is happening in the government. Are they being insulted?" he asked.
Amaechi alleged that Christians are being unfairly targeted whenever they criticised the government.
"We've been insulted because we are Christians," he stated.
Speaking on the broader issue of religion and ethnicity in Nigerian politics, Amaechi lamented that both factors have continued to divide the country and fuel distrust among citizens.
Responding to a question on how politicians could stop exploiting religion and ethnicity for political gains, he maintained that he had never subscribed to such divisions.
"You know that I don't believe in ethnicity. You know that I don't believe in religious differences," he said.
The former minister cited his personal life as evidence of his commitment to religious tolerance, revealing that although he is a Christian, he provides a place of worship for Muslims in his home because some of his workers are Muslims.
"I believe, if you come to my house, I'm a Christian. There's a place for the Muslims to worship, because I have Muslim staff," he said.
Amaechi reiterated his criticism of the Tinubu administration, accusing it of failing to accord respect to the Catholic Church and Christians.
"Because he's sending out attack dogs against the church, he has no respect for the Catholic Church, and they have no respect and regard for the Christian faith," Amaechi said.
He called on the government and its supporters to stop attacking Christian leaders and instead respect the church and the Christian faith.
"They should leave the Catholic Church alone and they should respect God and respect the Christian faith. They should stop insulting Christians and the leadership of the Christian church," Amaechi said.
Amaechi's comments followed the recent attack by the Presidency on the Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan.
This stems from a closed-door meeting on July 28, 2026, at the Presidential Villa. A delegation from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) visited President Bola Tinubu to present an assessment of the country's severe socioeconomic challenges.
The situation escalated significantly after Onaiyekan recounted the private exchange on ARISE News' Prime Time.
Led by CBCN President Archbishop Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji, the delegation included prominent figures like Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah and Cardinal John Onaiyekan. They presented a stark reality of Nigeria's state, highlighting worsening economic hardship, severe inflation, poverty, and rising insecurity.
President Tinubu fiercely defended his administration, arguing that Nigeria had emerged from a "dark tunnel" and that his economic reforms were successfully steering the nation toward stability.
On Friday, August 1, 2026, Cardinal Onaiyekan granted an interview to ARISE News, lifting the veil on the closed-door discussions. He asserted that sycophants surrounding the President were shielding him with a "rosy picture" of Nigeria that did not match reality.
The cleric disclosed that when the bishops explicitly told Tinubu the economy was failing poor citizens, the President flatly rejected their view, maintaining that the nation was "not bleeding" and the economy was fine.
Onaiyekan critiqued a quote attributed to Tinubu during the meeting, which was "in politics, all is fair". The Cardinal expressed fears that the administration was leveraging incumbency to "win at all costs" in 2027, potentially threatening electoral integrity.
The Presidency responded swiftly through statements from aides Temitope Ajayi, Sunday Dare, and Daniel Bwala. Presidential Adviser Temitope Ajayi released a statement accusing Onaiyekan of breaching confidential statehouse protocol and lacking the prudence and restraint expected of a bishop.
Media aide Daniel Bwala and key allies, including FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, publicly criticized the Cardinal. They alleged his comments were politically motivated and suggested he was biased toward opposition figures like Peter Obi from the 2023 elections.