RismadarVoice Reporters, August 6, 2026
The member representing Abia North Senatorial District, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, has declared that he would resign from the All Progressives Congress (APC) if President Bola Tinubu ever showed disrespect to either the opposition or the Catholic Church.
Kalu made the remarks during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday while addressing the controversy surrounding President Tinubu’s recent meeting with Catholic bishops.
The former Abia State governor defended the President, maintaining that Tinubu did not insult the Catholic bishops and therefore had no reason to apologise.
“Any day President Tinubu shows disrespect to the opposition or the Catholic Church, I will resign from the APC,” Kalu said.
He added that, based on his relationship with the President, Tinubu would never deliberately insult Catholic bishops.
“The President did not make any statement that requires an apology. However, if the Presidency has done anything wrong, then it should apologise,” he stated.
Kalu described Tinubu as a longtime friend of the Catholic Church and said the bishops were within their rights to raise concerns about national issues during their meeting with the President.
According to him, there was nothing unusual about the bishops openly expressing their views, insisting that Tinubu and the Catholic Church have maintained a cordial relationship over the years.
He also argued that comments made by Cardinal John Onaiyekan after the meeting should not automatically be interpreted as the official position of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN).
Kalu noted that the discussion between the bishops and the President was conducted publicly in the presence of cameras, adding that Onaiyekan’s remarks could reflect his personal perspective rather than the collective position of the conference.
He further pointed out that the official communiqué following the meeting was presented by the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, stressing that individual cardinals and archbishops remain entitled to express personal opinions.
The controversy arose after Cardinal Onaiyekan told journalists that Catholic bishops informed President Tinubu during the meeting that Nigeria was “bleeding” as many citizens continued to face severe economic hardship.
According to the cardinal, the President responded by saying he disagreed with the bishops’ assessment of the country’s economic situation.
