Emeritus Bishop rejects inauguration of new administration when tribunal is yet to decide matters
· You are an embarrassment to body of Christ, Keyamo blasts Bishop
By Oguwuike Nnadi
Emeritus Bishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, and Minister of State for Labour and Employment, and spokesperson of the now dissolved All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo, SAN, have clashed over the planned inauguration of a Bola Tinubu led new administration on May 29
While Onaiyekan has expressed dissatisfaction with the ongoing preparations to inaugurate the new administration, led by president – elect, Bola Tinubu, even as the tribunal is yet to take decision on the petitions challenging his election, Keyamo described the Emeritus Bishops position as an embarrassment to the body of Christ which he professes
Keyamo accused the clergy man of bias, sressing that he made opposed such moved during the inauguration of former presidents Olusegun Obasajo, Umaru Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan
This is as cardinal Onaiyekan noted that the 2023 general election was manipulated, and only the tribunal can decide who the eventual winner will be
The Emeritus Bishop, who spoke Thursday morning in a Channels Television programme monitored in Abuja expressed hope that a new Nigeria is possible, adding that he would see the anticipated new Nigeria before he dies
Onaiyekan, who was reacting to the 2023 presidential poll, emphasised that the election was rigged, stressing that those involved in manipulating the outcome of the elections know themselves.
The clergy man regretted that the election tribunal was yet to decide on the petitions filed by opposition parties before the May 29 handover, said God knows those that rigged the election.
He said, “I am 80, so I am not going anywhere. I am still dreaming that before I go to paradise, I should see a better Nigeria, and I believe it is possible.
“Those who rigged the election know they did it. Those who refused to allow the people’s will to prevail, they know. And the wonderful thing is that God himself knows them.
“Even the court may not know, but God knows them. And they know themselves. The more we mention God is the more we should be on guard not to be using the name of God in vain.
“There are countries that did not want to mention God, but they are running their affairs well.
“But if we decide to keep mentioning God, then we must run our affairs according to the will of God”.
Onaiyekan advised that the system of electioneering in the nation should be reviewed, noting that it would produce winners who don’t have the shadow of the court lurking behind their victory.
“There are cases in court that have not been disposed of. That is why we are in an anomalous situation. We have a president-elect whose election is being challenged and the court is handling it.
“I’m still waiting for the court to tell me who won the election. It doesn’t make much sense to be swearing in people when they are still in court.
“I think we need to review our election process, so we do have a winner who will be sworn in and whom everybody would rally around.
“It is a pity that it is taking longer for the court to come to its decision. My problem is that the whole system of our election must be properly reviewed so that it would be easier for winners to emerge according to the wishes of the people.
“It is not right to have a system that is constantly contested. We should find out why is every election being contested.”
The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal had fixed May 8 for the hearing of the petitions filed by the opposition parties challenging the declaration of the president-elect, Bola Tinubu as winner of the February 25 presidential election.
The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar, and his Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi, as well as candidates of the Action Alliance (AA), Allied Peoples mandate (APM) and Action Peoples party (APP) had approached the tribunal to cancel Tinubu’s victory, alleging mass electoral fraud and constitutional breach in his declaration by INEC
***Stop embarrassing body of Christ, Keyamo fires Bishop
Meanwhile the minister of State, Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, has asked the Emeritus Bishop to stop being an embarrassment to the body of Christ because of the Bola Tinubu election
Keyamo, who was reacting in a statement through his Twitter handle to the comments by Emeritus Bishop John Cardinal Onaiyekan on the 2023 presidential electionto comments by Bishop Emeritus of the Archdiocese of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan against the upcoming May 29 swearing in of the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, said Onaiyekan’s comment is an embarrassment to the Body of Christ.
His words: “Dear daddy Onaiyekan, you know we all respect you a lot, but your political comments are becoming unstatesmanlike.
“A statesman who doubles as a Man of God should strive to be fair to all. You didn’t say the same thing when Obasanjo, Yar’Adua, Jonathan and Buhari were all sworn in as Presidents when their cases were still before the courts.
“You have chosen to single out this President- Elect @officialABA this time around because the candidate you and your other religious brethren openly supported lost the election and you all feel humiliated and embarrassed.
“All issues raised against the victory of @officialABAT in court now (whether it is 25% votes in FCT or the fake drug issue, etc), are not different from issues raised against previous Presidents-elect because basically the complaints have always been that the declared victor did not win the election fair and square or was not qualified to contest the election. No disqualifying issue against a candidate can be greater than other disqualifying issues since a single issue can decide a case against a President-elect.
“So, why all the fuse now? It has always been our electoral template since 1999 for the declared winners to be sworn into office in order TO AVOID A VACUUM and not to foist an unconstitutional contraption on the system whist the cases are in court.
“My dear daddy, may I respectfully advise that going forward, you and your brethren may consider stepping back from the deep and murky waters of politics and desist from descending into the arena of political conflicts where your children in your congregations find themselves on different sides of political divides, so it would be unfair to them for you to openly take sides.
“The embarrassment to the Body of Christ is getting too much and no politician is worth dragging this dignified body into unnecessary political controversy. Is this too much to ask, Daddy?”
