The African Democratic Congress vice-presidential candidate, Rotimi Amaechi, has criticised President Bola Tinubu for not providing sufficient reassurance on the credibility of the 2027 general election following concerns expressed by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria.
Amaechi made the comments on Tuesday during an appearance on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’, where he argued that the President should have used his engagement with the bishops to reinforce confidence in the nation’s electoral process.
The former Minister of Transportation said Tinubu should have assured Nigerians and political parties that the next election would be conducted under conditions that guarantee fairness and equal opportunity for all contenders.
“When the president has said to you all is fair in politics when the Catholic Church is crying about the possibility of having an election that may not be fair, what the President needs to do is to reassure the country, APC, PDP and ADC will slug it out in an even field, it will be a free and fair election, let the best team win,” he said.
The Catholic bishops had, during their meeting with President Tinubu last week, called on the Federal Government to ensure credible elections and strengthen democratic institutions ahead of the 2027 polls.
The bishops’ concerns came amid claims by opposition parties that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other government institutions were being used to pressure political opponents.
President Tinubu, however, rejected the allegations, maintaining that INEC operates independently and has not been used to target opposition parties.
The meeting later generated controversy after Cardinal John Onaiyekan, the former Archbishop of Abuja, disclosed that the bishops informed the President that Nigerians were experiencing serious economic difficulties and that the country was “bleeding.”
In response, presidential spokesman Daniel Bwala criticised the Cardinal’s comments, describing them as political in nature.
Amaechi, however, defended Onaiyekan, saying the cleric was not supporting any political group but was expressing genuine concerns over poverty, corruption and the living conditions of Nigerians.
“He supports nobody. I see Cardinal Onaiyekan regularly; I worship in his private chapel. Cardinal Onaiyekan himself supports nobody. I have had several conversations with him. The only thing that pains him is the level of indiscretion and poverty in the country and corruption. He worries about that,” he said.
The former Rivers State governor also accused the Presidency of disrespecting the Catholic Church and the wider Christian community over its response to the bishops’ concerns.
He called on the Federal Government to avoid attacking religious leaders and instead address the issues they raised regarding governance, economic hardship and the need to strengthen democratic accountability.
