Presidency launches attack on Christain leader demanding free, fair, honest election

The Presidency has launched a fierce counterattack against Catholic bishops who demanded free, fair and credible elections in 2027, rejected what they described as attempts to create a one party system and urged President Bola Tinubu not to impose himself on Nigeria for a second term.

The government’s response followed growing criticism from Christian leaders, including the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria and other Christian elders, who have raised concerns over the state of democracy, electoral transparency and political inclusion ahead of the next presidential election.

The National Christian Elders Forum has joined the fray declaring that the Tinubu administration has failed in its constitutional duty to secure lives and deliver welfare. The elders said the current trajectory offers increasing apprehension rather than hope and called on the President to abandon any 2027 re election bid. Instead they urged him to act as a statesman and dedicate the remainder of his tenure to restructuring Nigeria and delivering a new constitution.

The forum branded the Muslim Muslim ticket tone deaf and grossly insensitive especially while Islamist terrorists continue to ravage communities and Christians remain primary targets of violence killings and atrocities.

They further stated that Tinubu’s Muslim Muslim presidential ticket has confirmed the persecution of Christians in Nigeria to the world as it rejected his bid for a second term arguing that the arrangement endangered national unity and was insensitive amid growing insecurity affecting Christian communities.

They demanded that the Independent National Electoral Commission remain truly independent and that the judiciary stay impartial in any election disputes.

The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria has declared that Nigeria is a secular state and not a Muslim country as it strongly rejected the adoption of a Muslim Muslim ticket for the 2027 general elections insisting that the nation’s religious and ethnic diversity must be reflected in its political leadership.

In a communique after its National Executive Council meeting the PFN through National Publicity Secretary Dr Sylvanus Ukafia stated that the body does not support a Muslim Muslim ticket for elective public office.

Nigeria is a multi religious and multi ethnic nation whose diversity should be reflected in its leadership. Inclusive governance promotes national unity mutual trust and a sense of belonging among all citizens the fellowship emphasised while also denouncing any moves to restrict Christian preaching as unconstitutional.

The clash intensified after a high level meeting on July 28 2026 at the Presidential Villa in Abuja where a delegation of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria led by Archbishop Matthew Man Oso Ndagoso met President Tinubu.

The bishops raised alarm over worsening insecurity grinding poverty and what they described as a dangerous drift toward a one party state. They insisted on the need for free fair and credible elections in 2027.

The clerics also voiced deep unease over the abandonment of the traditional Christian Muslim balance at the top of government noting that both Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima are Muslims. They insisted that anything short of transparent free fair and credible elections in 2027 would invite avoidable disaster.

Cardinal John Onaiyekan Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja later amplified the concerns in a public interview. He stated that the bishops presented a grim assessment of the economy and insecurity which the President rejected. Onaiyekan warned that the administration appears bent on winning the 2027 election by all means and possesses enormous powers that could be deployed in ways that prevent ordinary Nigerians votes from counting even if the polls appear free and fair on the surface.

The Presidency responded with sharp rebuttals. Special Adviser on Media and Public Communications Daniel Bwala accused Cardinal Onaiyekan of speaking only for Catholics not for all Christians and claimed the Catholic Church was politically aligned with opposition figures such as Peter Obi.

Bwala insisted the President was entitled to disagree with the bishops assessment because it did not match available facts statistics and numbers. Other presidential aides including Temitope Ajayi dismissed the clerics as not the sole custodians of truth about the state of the nation and criticised the public disclosure of what they said should have remained a confidential discussion.

President Tinubu himself during the Villa meeting had already pushed back. He defended the electoral commission declaring INEC neutral and insisting it has never intimidated any political party. All contestants he said enjoy equal opportunity.

Tinubu told the bishops that political opponents crying wolf may simply be afraid of their own shadows. He vowed he will not offer them a red carpet. He will not offer them the leash to tie him at home. We will wrestle each other to the finishing point.

Tinubu responded by declaring that he will not make it easy for the opposition to unseat him in the 2027 general election describing the coming political contest as a fight to the finish. On the economy and security the President maintained that difficult reforms are yielding results and that the security architecture is being restructured to defeat terrorism banditry and kidnapping.

Northern Christians have condemned the attack on Cardinal Onaiyekan. The Northern Christian Association through its Chairman Rev Joseph John Hayab backed the Catholic bishops and described it as shameful and a disservice to Tinubu for his spokesperson to disrespect the Cardinal. Hayab said our Cardinal is our respected leader and the bishops that visited the President went to speak to him about humanity Christians and all of us not only Catholics. He stressed that Catholics are Christians and Nigerians and that members of the association include Catholics Baptists ECWA Methodists Anglicans Pentecostals and people of all denominations. They refuse to be divided by politics that seeks to create unnecessary differences among Christians. Any voice of greed propaganda or disconnect with the citizens by any government appointee like Bwala should be seen as those destroying the country for their selfish interest not minding the larger population Hayab added.

Opposition voices including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar condemned the Presidency response as an arrogant attack on a respected moral institution. Atiku demanded an unreserved apology to Cardinal Onaiyekan and the Catholic faithful arguing that the government chose intimidation over introspection.

The exchange has sharpened national debate ahead of the 2027 general elections with religious leaders across Catholic Protestant and Pentecostal lines insisting on credible polls genuine multiparty competition religious balance and recognition of Nigeria as a secular multi faith nation while the Presidency maintains its record and readiness to compete fiercely under existing rules.