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Tinubu does not want to hear the truth-Catholic Archbishop Onaikan
Archbishop Emeritus of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, has revealed that President Bola Tinubu appeared unwilling to accept the Catholic bishops’ assessment of Nigeria’s worsening economic and social conditions during a closed-door meeting at the Presidential Villa.
Speaking on Arise Television’s Prime Time programme on Friday, the Catholic cleric gave an insider account of the meeting between President Tinubu and members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), describing it as a frank exchange in which the bishops deliberately chose to confront the President with what they described as the harsh realities facing millions of Nigerians.
Reflecting on President Tinubu’s reaction during the meeting, Onaiyekan said it was obvious that the President was displeased with the message delivered by the bishops.
“You asked me, how did I see the face of the President in reaction? I was not surprised that he was not looking very happy. Not even his colleagues who were there. We knew that this is different from the kind of statements that our President keeps receiving from all kinds of people,” Onaiyekan said.
The Archbishop Emeritus expressed concern that many individuals surrounding the President were shielding him from the true state of affairs in the country by presenting overly optimistic assessments.
“And that is one of the things that worries us. That there are so many people hanging around Mr. President, giving him a rosy picture of what the country is, which it is not. And we felt that we have no duty to do that.
“Indeed, we have the obligation to help him to appreciate the reality of the situation in which we find ourselves. And that is the reality that we painted, which I know is not the kind of thing that he wanted to hear. And the reply shows very clearly.”
According to him, both the bishops and the President left the meeting fully aware that neither side had shifted its position.
“And you can see his reply. We left that hall, both sides, knowing that we said what we had to say.
“He said what he had to say.”
Asked by the ARISE Television interviewer whether the meeting could be described as “frosty,” particularly because Nigerians are accustomed to cordial engagements between religious leaders and political office holders, Cardinal Onaiyekan maintained that the gravity of the nation’s challenges demanded honesty rather than diplomacy.
“When the nation is bleeding, you can’t expect a polite meeting with the head of state.
“We need to let him know.”
The Catholic cleric disclosed that while the bishops painted a grim picture of the country’s economic realities and their impact on poor Nigerians, President Tinubu maintained that the nation was not in crisis and defended his administration’s economic policies.
“And his reply is that the nation is not bleeding.
“We told him our economy is not helping our poor people. He told us the economy is doing fine.”
Onaiyekan said the President made it abundantly clear that he disagreed with the concerns raised by the bishops.
“Practically speaking, he told us quite clearly that he did not agree with us. Again, I said, we’re not surprised.
“We didn’t expect him to agree with us. We have done our duty. We have delivered our message.”
Despite the President’s disagreement, the Archbishop Emeritus expressed hope that those around him would eventually bring to his attention the realities highlighted during the meeting.
“And we have a feeling that somehow along the line, somebody will show him a few of the things we said.”
The Enugu State Government has suspended His Royal Majesty, Igwe Eze William Ezugwu, the traditional ruler of Ibagwa Ogbozalla Opi Autonomous Community, in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu state.
The state government accused Igwe Ezugwu of violating provisions of the state’s Traditional Rulers Law.
In a letter of suspension dated September 24, the Enugu State Government cited his alleged failure to constitute his cabinet, failure to establish a Town Union governing body, and persistent conduct deemed inconsistent with the laws governing traditional rulers in the state.
The suspension comes barely three weeks after Igwe William Ezugwu received NDC presidential candidate Peter Obi at his palace in Opi, Nsukka LGA, where he reportedly blessed Obi’s presidential ambition.
The Deputy Commander of Operation Rainbow, CSP (Chief Superintendent of Police) Dennis David Babale, has been killed after gunmen suspected to be Fulani Bandits ambushed personnel of the security outfit along the Bokkos-Barkin Ladi road in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State.
Operation Rainbow is a State-backed community security and intelligence-gathering outfit in Plateau State, Nigeria, originally established in 2010 under former Governor Jonah Jang and recently revamped by Governor Caleb Mutfwang to combat rural violence and beef up grassroots security.
The incident reportedly occurred at about 4:06 p.m. on Tuesday, September 22, 2026 when the personnel, travelling in a Toyota Hilux vehicle, came under attack by unidentified gunmen.
Troops of Sector 4, Operation ENDURING PEACE (OPEP), responded to a distress report and moved to the location of the attack.
Sources told reporters that Babale sustained gunshot wounds during the ambush and was evacuated to the General Hospital, Barkin Ladi, for medical attention.
Following the attack, troops, working alongside personnel of other security agencies, launched offensive operations and a manhunt for the assailants within the general area.
Security forces have intensified efforts to track the attackers and prevent further attacks along the route.
Director General/CEO of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and Nigeria’s Permanent Representative at the World Meteorological Organization, Prof. Charles Anosike and other Chief Executive Officers of similar agencies across the world, have concluded a one week high level dialogue on Climate Science Information for Climate Finance and the 53rd Senior Official Field Exchange (SOFE) in Beijing, China.
The event which was hosted by World Meteorological Organization (WMO), took place from September 14 to 18, 2026 and featured discussions on: strengthening the role and leadership development of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) in mobilizing climate finance; aligning scientific and technical capabilities with risk-informed, people-centred early warning systems; shifting from technical assistance to sustainable investments by expanding practical cooperation between meteorological frameworks and multilateral financing entities; and support to NMHSs leadership on strengthening strategic thinking and fostering productive partnerships.
Held back-to-back with the High-level dialogue was the 53rd Senior Official Field Exchange to Fujian Province for first-hand exposure to the implementation of Multi-hazard, Alert, Zero-gap and Universal (MAZU) platform – China’s AI-driven meteorological early warning solution in support of the Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative and disaster risk reduction practices through technical exchanges, field visits and peer learning.
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