Senator Orji Kalu has described the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria as “the conscience of the country” and urged President Tinubu to reflect on their concerns rather than treat them as political attacks, while insisting Nigeria’s economic hardship isn’t entirely the president’s fault.
Senator Orji Kalu has jumped into the growing row over last week’s tense meeting between President Tinubu and Catholic bishops — and he’s siding with the clerics.
In a video posted on his Facebook page, the Abia North senator described the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) as “the conscience of the country,” urging Tinubu to take their concerns seriously rather than dismiss them as political criticism. “Once they give advice, their advice is not for or against,” Kalu said. “Their advice is just for any sitting president, any sitting leader, to see things the way it should be.”
According to The Cable,the remarks follow last Tuesday’s meeting at the State House in Abuja, where CBCN leadership, led by Matthew Ndagoso, confronted Tinubu with concerns over worsening economic hardship, insecurity, and the state of the nation. Tinubu pushed back, defending his economic reforms as stabilizing and touting the end of prolonged university strikes, while insisting INEC remains neutral and dismissing political opponents as “afraid of their own shadows.”
The meeting has since snowballed into public controversy, with Archbishop Emeritus John Onaiyekan revealing on Arise Television that Tinubu appeared displeased with the bishops’ message that the country was “bleeding.” Presidential adviser Daniel Bwala fired back, accusing Onaiyekan of not speaking for all Christians and alleging the Catholic Church was backing NDC’s Peter Obi for 2027.
Kalu, however, struck a more conciliatory tone toward both sides. While acknowledging Nigeria’s economic difficulties are real, he was quick to defend the president. “There’s difficulty in Nigeria, there’s no doubt. And it’s not the fault of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” he said, arguing the administration has stabilized the macro-economy even as ordinary Nigerians continue to struggle at the micro level — “the macro-economy, and the micro is what we are having problems,” he said.
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