Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, has clarified that his recent criticism of Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, was not intended to disrespect the Catholic cleric or the church.
Ajayi made the clarification during an interview on Arise TV on Thursday, following a public disagreement over comments made by Onaiyekan about a private meeting between President Tinubu and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN).
Onaiyekan had discussed the meeting during an earlier television interview, giving his account of the conversations between the President and the bishops. The delegation, led by CBCN President Matthew Ndagoso, had met with Tinubu to discuss several national issues, including insecurity, tertiary education, democracy, credible elections and poverty.
Ajayi had subsequently criticised Onaiyekan’s decision to publicly discuss details of the closed-door engagement, describing it as an “abuse of clerical privilege.” However, the presidential aide said on Thursday that the disagreement should now be regarded as settled.
“Well, I think that episode has been closed. Cardinal Onaiyekan is a respected clergy and a statement in his own right.”
Ajayi maintained that his earlier comments were not directed at Onaiyekan’s position or reputation within the Catholic Church. According to him, his intention was simply to present an alternative interpretation of the cardinal’s account of the meeting.
“My response to him did not in any way disrespect him or disrespect his standing in the society and the church. He’s one of the leaders of the faith.”
He acknowledged Onaiyekan as a respected religious leader and said his response should not be interpreted as an attempt to undermine the cardinal.
Ajayi said his intervention was aimed at providing another perspective on the discussion between the President and the Catholic bishops. He explained that he believed it was necessary to respond to the account presented publicly by the cardinal.
“I only tried to provide a different perspective from his own account of the bishop’s encounter with the president, and I think that point has been made.”
The presidential aide stressed that he had no interest in extending the disagreement.
He said the issue had already received sufficient public attention and should no longer dominate discussions.
“And I think it’s not not something we really want to dwell further on.”
Ajayi’s comments effectively sought to draw a line under the public exchange between the presidency and the respected Catholic cleric, while maintaining that his earlier response was intended as a clarification rather than an attack on Onaiyekan or the church.
