Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, representing Abia North and a former Governor of Abia State, has declared that he will resign from the All Progressives Congress (APC) should President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ever show disrespect toward the Catholic Church or the opposition.
The former Senate Chief Whip made the statement while appearing as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme. His remarks came amid ongoing public debate following a recent meeting between President Tinubu and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) at the State House in Abuja. During that engagement, the bishops reportedly raised concerns about economic hardship, insecurity, and the political climate ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Senator Kalu firmly rejected suggestions that the President had insulted or disrespected the Catholic Church. He emphasized the Church’s traditional role as the “conscience of the nation.”
“Tinubu did not insult the Catholic Church. This is not the first time the Catholic Church has gone to President Tinubu,” Kalu stated. “In every country, from DRC, Angola to South Africa, and anywhere, the Catholic and other churches are always the conscience of the country. 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.”
He added: “It is not true [that the President insulted the Church]. 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.”
Kalu, himself a Catholic, also defended the bishops’ right to speak on national issues, noting that their interventions help hold leaders accountable. He maintained that remarks by presidential aides should not automatically be attributed to the President and stated that Tinubu owes the Church no apology over the recent controversy.
The senator’s conditional threat to leave the ruling party underscores his commitment to institutional respect for religious bodies and democratic opposition while reaffirming his support for the President’s engagement with the Catholic hierarchy.