Cardinal John Onaiyekan, Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, has rejected the Presidency’s criticism of his public account of a meeting between Catholic bishops and President Bola Tinubu.

He insisted that neither his age nor the government’s reaction would stop him from speaking frankly about Nigeria’s condition.

The 82-year-old cleric said he went on television to present what he believed to be the truth about the engagement with the President, rather than to curry favour with the government or anyone else.

Onaiyekan made the remarks in a video shared by Symfoni TV on Wednesday.

The cleric dismissed any suggestion that the criticism could embarrass, intimidate or silence him

He stressed that he had reached an age where he had little reason to be afraid of consequences.

Onaiyekan also warned Nigerians against taking the country’s remaining space for public criticism for granted, saying the situation was considerably more restrictive in some other African countries.

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