A former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, has commended members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) for their courage in telling President Bola Tinubu about the poor condition of the economy, and warning against one-party State.
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Frank, in a statement on Sunday in Abuja, said the bishops deserve commendation for looking the President “in the face” and telling him what he described as the bitter truth about the state of the nation.
He urged other Christian and Muslim religious leaders to emulate the Catholic bishops by speaking truth to power and demanding accountability from the government.
“We commend the Catholic leaders for their courage. We have not seen this kind of courage from religious leaders in Nigeria for a long time. They were brave enough to look the President in the face and tell him the bitter truth,” Frank said.
He urged Tinubu to heed the bishops’ advice, saying doing so would save the President from further embarrassment.
“The President should heed their advice. By doing so, he will save himself from embarrassment. These are true leaders, and we expect other religious bodies to follow the example set by the Catholic leaders,” he said.
Frank, however, accused some religious leaders, particularly some Pentecostal leaders, of failing to speak truthfully to the government after visiting the Presidential Villa.
He said religious leaders should not restrict themselves to praying for the President when, according to him, they are aware of the challenges confronting the country.
“When they have the opportunity to tell the President the truth, they simply say they are praying for him. But they know the truth. They know the damage that has been done in this country. How long will they continue to sit and pray when they should be speaking the truth?” Frank asked.
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The former APC chieftain also accused the Tinubu administration of worsening corruption, insecurity, poverty and unemployment, while alleging that the government had weakened democratic institutions and political parties.
“What legacy is President Tinubu going to leave behind? What will Nigerians remember about his administration when he leaves office?
“Unfortunately, the legacy Nigerians are seeing is corruption taken to another level and insecurity taken to another level. Poverty and unemployment have also reached unprecedented levels,” he said.
Frank further alleged that the administration was working towards manipulating the 2027 elections because, according to him, Tinubu would not win a free and fair election.
“He knows that if there is a free and fair election today, he is not going to come back. Instead of being desperate to destroy political parties and democratic institutions, the President should do the right thing: conduct free and fair elections,” he said.
He also accused the government of using the judiciary to weaken opposition political parties and urged the President to respect democratic institutions.
Frank also appealed to Muslim and other Christian leaders to demonstrate the same courage as the Catholic bishops by openly challenging government policies they considered harmful to Nigerians.
“This is the time to speak the truth. They should tell President Tinubu that he has failed and that, having failed, he should not seek another term,” he said.