Senator Orji Uzor Kalu has declared that he would resign from the All Progressives Congress (APC) if President Bola Tinubu ever showed disrespect toward the Catholic Church or the political opposition.
The senator representing Abia North made the remarks during Wednesday’s edition of Politics Today on Channels Television while addressing the controversy surrounding President Tinubu’s recent meeting with Catholic bishops and comments made afterward by John Cardinal Onaiyekan.
Kalu dismissed claims that the President insulted the Catholic bishops during the meeting, insisting that Tinubu had nothing to apologize for.
“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.
The former Abia State governor described Tinubu as a longtime ally of the Catholic Church, stressing that the bishops were within their rights to openly express concerns about the country’s challenges during their meeting with the President.
According to Kalu, there was no hostility between Tinubu and the Catholic Church, adding that he did not interpret the President’s remarks as offensive.
He also maintained that Cardinal Onaiyekan’s comments following the meeting should not be regarded 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.
Kalu noted that the communiqué issued after the meeting was presented by the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, while individual bishops, cardinals, and archbishops remained entitled to express their personal views.
The controversy followed Cardinal Onaiyekan’s disclosure that the bishops informed President Tinubu that Nigeria was “bleeding” as many citizens continued to grapple with economic hardship. According to the cardinal, the President responded by saying he disagreed with the bishops’ assessment of the country’s economic situation.
