I’ll leave APC if Tinubu disrespects Catholic bishops — Orji Kalu

I’ll leave APC if Tinubu disrespects Catholic bishops — Orji Kalu

Senator Orji Uzor Kalu has said he would resign from the All Progressives Congress (APC) if President Bola Tinubu ever showed disrespect toward the opposition or the Catholic Church.

The senator representing Abia North made the statement during Wednesday’s edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today, amid the ongoing controversy over Tinubu’s recent meeting with Catholic bishops.

Kalu, a former governor of Abia State, defended the President, insisting that Tinubu did not insult the Catholic bishops and therefore had nothing to apologise for.

“Any day President Tinubu has disrespect for the opposition, or has disrespect for the Catholic Church, I’d resign from the APC. The President can never insult the Catholic bishop, knowing him. The President didn’t say anything that needs apology. If there is anything wrong the Presidency has done, he should apologise,” Kalu said.

He described Tinubu as a longstanding friend of the Catholic Church and said there was nothing wrong with the bishops openly expressing concerns to the President.

“Tinubu has a good relationship with the Catholic Church. Nothing wrong in what the Catholic bishops said. Tinubu is not an enemy to Catholic bishops, one of their best friends. Tinubu by no means insulted the bishops. I didn’t see it,” he said.

Kalu also argued that comments made by Cardinal John Onaiyekan after the meeting should not automatically be treated as the official position of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria.

“The discussion the Catholic bishops had with President Tinubu is not personal. They had cameras there, so it’s a public discussion. Onaiyekan did not go with other Catholic bishops. That might be his opinion,” he said.

He added that the communiqué issued after the meeting was read by the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, noting that individual cardinals and archbishops were entitled to their own opinions.

The debate began after Onaiyekan told journalists that the bishops informed Tinubu that Nigeria was “bleeding” and that many citizens were struggling under severe economic hardship.

The cardinal also expressed concern about the 2027 general election and the integrity of the electoral process, remarks that drew criticism from some government officials and political figures.

The dispute widened after Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike accused Onaiyekan of political bias in his criticism of the Tinubu administration.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi rejected Wike’s accusation, insisting that the cleric was speaking about hardship, poverty and corruption, and urging the government to focus on resolving Nigeria’s economic and security problems.

At the Presidential Villa meeting, Tinubu dismissed claims that his administration was intimidating political opponents and said he was prepared for electoral competition without giving opponents “a red carpet.”