Senator Orji Uzor Kalu has declared that he would leave the All Progressives Congress (APC) if President Bola Tinubu ever showed disrespect to the opposition or the Catholic Church.
The senator representing Abia North made the remark during Wednesday’s edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today while reacting to the controversy surrounding Tinubu’s meeting with Catholic bishops and comments made by John Cardinal Onaiyekan afterward.
Kalu, who previously served as governor of Abia State, defended the president, insisting that Tinubu did not insult the Catholic bishops and therefore had no reason to apologise.
“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 maintained that Tinubu has always enjoyed a cordial relationship with the Catholic Church, adding that there was nothing unusual about the bishops expressing their concerns directly 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 added.
Kalu also argued that Cardinal Onaiyekan’s remarks after the meeting should not be interpreted as the official position of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN).
“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 noted that the official communiqué from the meeting was delivered by the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, stressing that individual cardinals and archbishops were free to express their personal views.
The controversy followed Onaiyekan’s disclosure that the bishops told Tinubu Nigeria was “bleeding” and that many citizens were facing severe economic hardship.
