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Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barr. Nyesom Wike, has challenged the impartiality of the Archbishop Emeritus of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, arguing that the cleric openly took sides during the 2023 general election and could not now be regarded as politically neutral.
Wike made the remarks during his monthly media briefing in Abuja on Tuesday while responding to the controversy surrounding comments made by the cardinal after a recent meeting between President Bola Tinubu and members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN).
Following the meeting, Onaiyekan had said in an interview that those around President Tinubu were presenting a “rosy picture” of the country to him and suggested that the President appeared focused on securing re-election in 2027. The Presidency subsequently criticised the cardinal for publicly disclosing details of the closed-door meeting.
Reacting to the development, Wike said public interventions by religious leaders should be balanced and objective, warning that persistent criticism without acknowledging areas of progress could undermine their credibility.
“If a religious leader is perceived to be taking a side, which is very clear, it becomes difficult for people to see those comments as objective or helpful,” the minister said.
He argued that Cardinal Onaiyekan’s political disposition during the 2023 presidential election was widely known.
“I am aware of the position of Cardinal Onaiyekan. All of us know it is not hidden whom he supported. Everybody knows that,” Wike said.
The minister maintained that while religious leaders have a responsibility to speak truth to those in authority, fairness requires acknowledging positive actions by government alongside constructive criticism.
“It should not always be that everything is bad. People should also be able to say government has done well in certain areas. As a leader, you commend government where it has performed and criticise where improvement is needed,” he stated.
According to Wike, when a respected public figure consistently highlights only the shortcomings of an administration, it is natural for the government to question the objectivity of such interventions.
“If every comment is negative, government will naturally conclude that the criticism is politically motivated rather than impartial,” he added.
The FCT minister also dismissed suggestions that the Catholic bishops’ position was non-partisan, insisting that many religious leaders openly aligned themselves with political candidates during the 2023 elections.
“Don’t tell me they were not partisan. We all know what happened during the 2023 election. Religious leaders took sides openly,” he said.
Wike further argued that it would be unrealistic to ignore those political alignments.
“I would be deceiving myself if I said anyone was impartial. We know ourselves in this country. We know who supported whom during the 2023 election. It was obvious,” the minister said.
