By: Odeh Favour Adiya
The Senator representing Abia North, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, has declared that the prevailing economic hardship and security challenges facing the country should not be blamed on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Kalu, a former governor of Abia State, made this assertion in a viral video while reacting to a recent visit by members of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria to the President at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
During the meeting, the clerics raised deep concerns over the state of the economy, the prevailing political climate, and widespread insecurity.
Following the engagement, Archbishop Emeritus of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, revealed that the President disagreed with the bishops’ assessment, maintaining that his administration remains on the right track.
Reacting to the development, Kalu lauded the clergymen for delivering an unvarnished account of the nation’s harsh realities directly to the President.
“The Catholic bishops are aware of the situation in the country. There are real difficulties in Nigeria, but they are not President Tinubu’s fault,” Kalu stated.
The lawmaker commended the meeting between the bishops and the President, maintaining that it gave Tinubu an honest assessment of the true situation across the country.
“The Catholic bishops’ visit to President Tinubu is a good one. I support it because they are telling him the way it is,” he said.
Describing the Catholic bishops as the moral anchor of the nation, Kalu stressed that their interventions are always driven by national interest and a desire for good governance.
“Speaking on the development, Kalu described the Catholic bishops as the conscience of the nation, saying their advice was always offered in the national interest.”
“The Catholic bishops are the conscience of the country and once they give advice, their advice is not for or against; it’s just for any sitting President to see things the way it should be,” he added.
While admitting that citizens are passing through tough times, Kalu insisted that politicians often feed the President with inaccurate reports, shielding him from the reality on the ground.
He acknowledged that Nigerians were facing genuine challenges but argued that Tinubu should not be blamed for them.
Kalu noted that the frank feedback from the religious leaders would ultimately propel the President to double his efforts for the country.
“It promotes the President to work harder because the Catholic bishops are just telling him the way it is. Even if politicians are lying to him that things are good everywhere, they can never say that.”
“Even if we politicians can lie to him, the bishops will tell him the truth about the current reality of the country,” he concluded.
