Mbaka Is Responsible For His Words, Not The Catholic Body, Catholic Priests Speak

Catholic Bishop of Abuja Metropolitan See, Cardinal John Onaiyekan has condemned the actions of Rev. Fr Ejike Mbaka for openly asking Nigerians to reject President Jonathan in the forthcoming presidential elections which will take place next month.

Onaiyekan who spoke to ThisDay said the church never sent Mbaka to give any opinion on what was going on in the country, and Mbaka should be held responsible for his words. He went as far as saying the Catholic body should also sanction him for the utterances.

“Mbaka will take responsibilities for his own actions. I do not believe in my mind that the way things are in Nigeria, any Catholic priest has the mandate to decide which of the political contestants should be voted for. What most of us will do is to tell people to vote according to their conscience and then, we tell the authorities to allow people to vote freely and fairly.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if most people are not happy with the statement he made. From my reactions, you should see that I do not agree with him. I don’t believe a priest should be doing that.

“But, like I said, Mbaka is a priest of his own type. If he was in my archdioceses, I will have sanctioned him long ago for the kind of things and utterances that he makes. But, he is not under my diocese; he has a Bishop to handle that if there is any need,” the Cardinal observed.

Meanwhile, the President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama, said Nigerians should avoid hasty generalisation, as the statement of one Catholic priest cannot be taken to represent the voices of more than 30 million Catholics in Nigeria.