The senator representing Abia North, Orji Kalu, has said he would resign from the All Progressives Congress (APC) if President Bola Tinubu disrespects the Catholic bishops or members of the opposition.
NEWSNGR reports that Kalu, a former governor of Abia State and ex-Senate Chief Whip, made the declaration on Wednesday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
The senator dismissed claims that Tinubu had insulted the Catholic Church following the recent exchanges between presidential aides and the Archbishop Emeritus of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan.
He maintained that the President had a cordial relationship with the Catholic Church and had consistently granted audiences to its leaders.
Kalu said, “Tinubu did not insult the Catholic Church. This is not the first time the Catholic Church has gone to President Tinubu.
“In every country, from DRC, Angola to South Africa, and anywhere, the Catholic and other churches are always the conscience of the country.”
Kalu said he found nothing objectionable in the concerns raised by the Catholic bishops about the condition of the country.
According to him, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria has a long history of speaking on national issues and should not be regarded as an enemy of the government.
“I do not see anything wrong in what the Catholic bishops said. Since the military rule, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference holds its conference every year, where they talk and issue a statement about the state of the nation,” he stated.
The lawmaker added that the bishops often raised issues that politicians and government officials might be unwilling to present directly to the President.
Kalu said, “For me, Tinubu is not an enemy to the Catholic bishops. The President has a very good relationship with the Catholic Church.
“Anytime they asked for an audience, he has given it to them because any president dodging Catholic bishops is dodging himself. What politicians cannot tell the President, the Catholic bishops will say it.”
Kalu Dismisses Disrespect Claims
The controversy followed Onaiyekan’s account of a recent meeting between Tinubu and members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference at the Presidential Villa.
The cardinal said the clerics raised concerns about economic hardship, insecurity and the state of the country but that Tinubu disagreed with their assessment.
Several presidential aides subsequently challenged the bishops’ position and accused some Catholic leaders of allowing political considerations to influence their comments.
The responses attracted criticism from sections of the Christian community, which described them as disrespectful to Onaiyekan and the church.
Kalu, however, maintained that Tinubu had not threatened or insulted the bishops or opposition leaders.
The senator said, “It is not true. If you hear him well, he said we will have a fair contest, and he will not touch anybody.
“Any day President Tinubu disrespects the opposition or Catholic bishops, I will resign from the APC.”
Speaking on the 2027 general election, Kalu expressed confidence that Tinubu would secure a second term.
He argued that the administration had recorded achievements in infrastructure, security and economic reforms, but that the ruling party had failed to communicate them effectively to Nigerians.
“A lot has been done by this government. We simply have not marketed those achievements well,” he said.
The former governor acknowledged that Nigerians were still facing economic challenges but maintained that the administration’s performance should not be judged solely by the prevailing hardship.
According to him, the APC needed to present clearer evidence of the government’s interventions and explain how its policies were expected to improve the economy.
Kalu rated the administration’s performance at about 65 per cent, predicting that the figure would rise before the end of the year.
“On a scale of 100, President Tinubu has done about 65 per cent. By September or October, that performance will be close to 70 per cent,” he stated.
The senator did not provide a detailed breakdown of the projects or policy outcomes on which he based the assessment.
He, however, maintained that Tinubu’s government had made progress despite the economic and security challenges inherited by the administration.
Opposition Too Divided — Kalu
Kalu also dismissed the possibility of opposition parties defeating the APC in the presidential election, arguing that they remained fragmented.
He said the absence of a united opposition structure would give Tinubu and the ruling party an advantage in the 2027 contest.
The senator maintained that opposition politicians would struggle to mount a credible challenge unless they resolved their differences and developed a common electoral strategy.
