We told him the economy is not helping our poor people; he told us the economy is doing fine- Cardinal Onaiyekan speaks on Catholic Bishop’s meeting with President TinubuThe Archbishop Emeritus of the Catholic Diocese of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, has said President Tinubu made it “quite clearly” known that he disagreed with the concerns raised by members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) during their meeting with him at the State House, Abuja.Recall that President Bola Tinubu met with members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) at the State House, Abuja, on July 28, 2026, where the bishops raised concerns about the economy, insecurity and the country’s political climate.Speaking with Arise News on Friday, July 31, Archbishop Onaiyekan said“When the nation is bleeding, you cannot expect a polite meeting with the Head of State. We had to let him know. And his reply is that the nation is not bleeding. We told him the economy is not helping our poor people; he told us the economy is doing fine. Frankly speaking, he told us quite clearly that he did not agree with us.Again, we were not surprised. We didn’t expect him to agree with us. We have done our duty, we have delivered our message, and we have a feeling that somehow, along the line, somebody will show him a few of the things we said,” he said.He also maintained that the bishops’ statement was the product of broad consultations within the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), stressing that it reflected the collective position of the conference rather than the views of a few individuals. Onaiyekan added that the bishops had no political ambitions but a duty to speak truthfully about the realities facing Nigerians.Credit: arisenewstv