The Northern Christian Association has thrown its full weight behind the Catholic Bishops of Nigeria following their recent meeting with President Bola Tinubu, strongly condemning the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communications, Daniel Bwala, over comments the association says were aimed at creating division within Nigeria’s Christian community.
The association insisted that the Catholic bishops represented not only the interests of the Catholic Church but also spoke on behalf of Christians across denominations and Nigerians at large, stressing that their engagement with the President was driven by patriotism and concern for the nation’s future.
The NCA’s reaction comes amid controversy that followed comments attributed to Bwala after the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria met with President Tinubu and openly expressed concerns over worsening insecurity, economic hardship and other pressing national challenges.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Chairman of the Northern Christian Association, Rev. Joseph Hayab, warned against what he described as divisive politics, declaring that the association would resist every attempt to pitch one Christian denomination against another for political reasons.
Hayab emphasised that the NCA is a broad umbrella body representing virtually every major Christian denomination in Northern Nigeria, including Catholics, Baptists, ECWA, Methodists, Anglicans, Pentecostals and many others.
He said attempts to portray the Catholic bishops as speaking only for Catholics reflected a misunderstanding of both the Church’s role and the unity that exists among Christians.
“We should tell Bwala to know that Catholics are Christians and Nigerians.
“Our members are Catholics, Baptists, ECWA, Methodists, Anglicans, Pentecostals and people of all denominations. We refuse to be divided by Bwala’s politics of division,” Hayab declared.
The cleric maintained that the bishops, alongside Cardinal John Onaiyekan, deserved respect for engaging the President on issues affecting the entire country rather than matters limited to the Catholic Church.
According to him, the delegation met President Tinubu to discuss national concerns including the welfare of Nigerians, the security situation and the country’s overall development.
“Our Cardinal is our respected leader, and the bishops that visited the President went to speak to him about humanity, Christians and all of us, not only Catholics,” he said.
Hayab further described it as both shameful and unfair for a presidential spokesperson to publicly disrespect Cardinal Onaiyekan, insisting that the bishops merely offered sincere advice intended to help the administration improve governance and address the nation’s numerous challenges.
“It is therefore shameful and a disservice to Tinubu for his spokesperson to disrespect our Cardinal.
“An honest counsel has been given to Mr President for his own good and for a better Nigeria,” he added.
The NCA chairman also criticised what he called the growing habit among some government officials of dismissing legitimate concerns raised by respected religious leaders and other stakeholders instead of addressing the issues being highlighted.
He warned that government appointees who rely on propaganda while ignoring the realities confronting ordinary Nigerians were contributing to the country’s problems rather than helping to solve them.
“Any voice of greed, propaganda or disconnect with the citizens by any government appointee like Bwala should be seen as those destroying the country for their selfish interest, not minding the larger population,” Hayab said.
He cautioned that Nigeria’s worsening security and economic situation would eventually affect everyone, regardless of political affiliation or status, if urgent action was not taken.
“Sadly for people like Bwala, if things do not improve, we shall all suffer together and live to see our country not growing as it should be,” he warned.
Reaffirming the association’s confidence in the Catholic bishops, Hayab described them as patriotic leaders whose commitment to Nigeria’s progress was beyond question.
“The NCA knows that our Catholic bishops mean well and love the President and the country more than those insulting their honest counsel,” he stated.
He called on political office holders and government officials to engage constructively with concerns raised by religious leaders instead of making statements capable of deepening religious and political divisions across the country.
The controversy began after the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria met with President Bola Tinubu and urged the Federal Government to take stronger and more decisive measures to address insecurity, rising economic hardship and other critical national challenges affecting millions of Nigerians.
The bishops’ remarks sparked widespread public debate, with Daniel Bwala’s response attracting criticism from several Christian organisations, including the Northern Christian Association, which has now firmly declared its support for the Catholic bishops while rejecting what it described as attempts to divide Nigeria’s Christian community.
