Adegbite, executive secretary of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission, spoke on Friday in an interview on TVC. He was pushing back at comments the former archbishop of Abuja made after the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria met President Bola Tinubu at the State House.
The row goes back to July 28, when the CBCN, led by Matthew Ndagoso, sat down with Tinubu and set out its concerns about the country’s security and its economy. But it was what came after the meeting, not the meeting itself, that started the fire.
Speaking afterwards, Onaiyekan said some of the people around the president were painting a “rosy picture” of the country, and warned that the government looked bent on winning future elections “by all means.” The comments set off a fresh argument over how far the clergy should go in matters of state, and drew a sharp reaction from within the presidency and the federal government, where some called the cleric partisan.
Adegbite’s reply was to separate two things — supporting a candidate, and tearing down an opponent. Nigerians, he said, are free to back whomever they like, but not by dragging others through the mud.
He went back to the last election to make his case. “In 2023, when Tinubu was declared winner, Cardinal Onaiyekan said he would not recognise Mr. President until the supreme court verdict, which is normal,” he said.
“But we said Nigerians have voted. And that is what people have said. But to say we don’t have a president? We told him at the time that we have a president and you cannot tell us we don’t have one.”
Everyone’s choice of candidate deserves respect, he argued — and that respect cuts both ways. “We have no problem with you having your own candidate. You can have your preferred candidate, but don’t run down other people’s candidates,” he said.
“Sell your own candidate. Let people see what your candidate has done that justifies him becoming the president of Nigeria.”
Those who stand with Tinubu, he added, have just as much right to make their case on what they see as his record. “The people who also believe in Mr President, let them show you. People don’t even need to be told anymore,” he said.
For Adegbite, the president should be judged on what he does, not on what his critics say. “The work of Mr President will speak for him, and that is what people want,” he said.
He saved his hardest words for Onaiyekan’s decision to talk publicly about the bishops’ meeting with Tinubu, insisting such conversations should stay behind closed doors.
“Their visit is very good, but for anybody to now take the visit of Mr President outside the villa and be making comments on it after retirement at 82, it is unacceptable,” he said. “If a body has visited Mr. President, that should be in confidence.”
The clash exposes a widening split within the Christian fold over how loudly men of the cloth should speak on questions of power — a divide that, with 2027 already hanging over the nation’s politics, shows little sign of closing.
