By Pascal Ibe
Introduction
A war of words erupted between the Nigerian Presidency and Catholic leaders following a closed-door meeting between President Bola Tinubu and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN).
Cardinal John Onaiyekan publicly disclosed that the president disagreed with the bishops’ bleak assessment of national hardship and insecurity, drawing sharp rebukes from presidential aides.
The CBCN, led by its President, Matthew Ndagoso, met with President Tinubu, during which it outlined areas of concern in the country, which include security, quality tertiary education and limited spaces, sustaining gains of democracy, credible elections, and poverty
In an interview with Arise TV on 31 July, Onaiyekan, who was part of the delegation, recounted how the president argued with the delegation on the state of the nation.
The president reportedly told the clerics that everything in the country was working well despite the bishops’ concerns about the nation’s worsening economic situation.
In a statement on 1 August, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, described Mr Onaiyekan’s action as an abuse of privilege.
Claim
The camp of the opposition parties in Nigeria has continued to criticise and kick against the presidency’s response to clerics’ interview.
But in all this comes the silence of one of the most famous bishops in Nigeria, Mathew Kukah, the bishop of Sokoto diocese, who has been vocal by lending his voice to the critical matters of importance in Nigeria.
An X user, @PO_GrassRootM (Peter Obi Grassroot Mobilisation) has claimed that Kukah did not join the other bishops to attend the recent meeting they had with President Tinubu.
“He refused to join the other Catholic bishops in going to see Tinubu.
“What exactly has this APC government given to him?”
The claim has received mixed responses, with some condemning Kukah for allegedly not attending the meeting. While others maintained that the Catholic bishop was at the meeting.
See comments here, here and here.
Verification
FACTWATCH Nigeria first checked the X account of Bayo Onanuga, one of the spokespersons to President Tinubu and found a press statement with two images attached to it.
We reviewed one of the images where the president posed with the Catholic bishops, and on a closer look at the photo, we discovered that Kukah attended the meeting.
Onanuga stated that the delegation that attended the meeting included: Most Rev. Alfred MARTINSArchbishop of Lagos/CBCN Vice President; Most Rev. Peter ODETOYINBOBishop of Abeokuta/CBCN Secretary; Most Rev. Moses CHIKWEAuxiliary Bishop of Owerri/CBCN Assistant Secretary; John Cardinal ONAIYEKAN, Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja; Peter Cardinal OKPALEKE, Bishop of Ekwulobia; Most Rev. Ignatius KIAGAMA, Archbishop of Abuja; Most Rev. Gabriel ABEGUNRIN, Archbishop of Ibadan; Most Rev. Valerian OKEKE, Archbishop of Onitsha; Most Rev. Emmanuel BADEJO, Bishop of Oyo; Most Rev. Gerald Musa, Bishop of Katsina and Most Rev. Matthew KUKAH, Bishop of Sokoto.
Also on the delegation were: Most Rev. Callistus ONAGA, Bishop of Enugu; Most Rev Godfrey ONAH, Bishop of Nsukka; Most Rev. Augustine ECHEMA, Bishop of Aba; Most Rev. Christopher NASERI, Auxiliary Bishop of Calabar; Rev. Fr. Michael BANJO, Secretary General; Rev. Fr. Peter AUDU, Director, Church and Society Department; Rev. Fr. Michael IMHADOWINYI and Dickson ADEYANJU.
A news report corroborated this evidence here
Arise News later reported that Kukah declined to comment on the rift between the Catholic bishops and the presidency.
Verdict
The claim that Bishop Matthew Kukah failed to attend the recent meeting Tinubu had with Catholic bishops is FALSE.
