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President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday told leaders of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) that his administration is “stabilising the nation” and that “prosperity is on the horizon” as he outlined measures to tackle insecurity and improve livelihoods across the country.
According to a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, while receiving CBCN President Most Rev. Matthew Ndagoso and a 19-member delegation at the State House, Tinubu said the government is repositioning the country’s security architecture through better intelligence, institutional restructuring, improved logistics and prioritising welfare for frontline personnel.
“We don’t have another country but here — this Nigeria. And I will refer to the national anthem that in our complexity and diversity, we shall thrive, live, rejoice and be good to all, and humanity,” the president said. “I have just approved the expansion of the armed forces. We are getting more equipment, building new barracks. We will defeat terrorism. It should be part of your sermons. I won’t deviate from our national anthem.”
Tinubu urged religious leaders to condemn violent attacks publicly and to support government efforts to end insurgency and criminal violence nationwide. He told the bishops that the administration’s security focus would produce victory over terrorism, banditry and kidnappings.
On economic recovery and poverty alleviation, the president said his government has stabilised the economy since taking office and pledged to sustain interventions aimed at improving family livelihoods, citing the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) as an example.
“I have listened to you carefully, and most importantly, your key areas are security and education. I can tell you categorically with sincerity that the country has been placed on a sound footing. The economy has recovered,” Tinubu said. “The spirit of the people is lifting, and the economic turmoil that we feared is cleared. The economy has been delivered from bankruptcy. This government has stabilised, and there is prosperity on the horizon. Life is improving.”
He encouraged citizens to take advantage of opportunities from government and private institutions and to embrace education, entrepreneurship and skills acquisition as pathways out of poverty.
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Speaking about education and the non-academic disputes that have affected universities in the past, the president described the current pause in academic disruptions as an “answered prayer”.
Tinubu also addressed electoral concerns, describing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as neutral and saying that “the opportunities are equal”. He challenged critics who accuse the commission of bias, suggesting some complaints stem from political anxiety rather than evidence.
On the sensitive issue of mission schools, Tinubu told the bishops that state governors have constitutional authority to decide on the return of mission schools and recalled his own actions as Lagos State governor when he returned schools to missions. “I returned all mission schools when I was the governor of Lagos State, and Cardinal Okogie, one of my best friends, is alive to testify to that,” he said.
Most Rev. Matthew Ndagoso, Archbishop of Kaduna, thanked the president for hosting the delegation and for receiving the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organisations, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, during the 50th anniversary of Nigeria–Vatican relations.
Ndagoso raised concerns about security, access to quality tertiary education and the limited spaces available, sustaining democratic gains, the need for credible elections and persistent poverty. He urged Tinubu to consider the return of mission schools nationwide and called for fair treatment of all worshippers, including the provision of places of worship without bias.
“As a man who risked so much in the struggle for the return of democratic rule in the dark days of the military dictatorship, your greatest legacy would be the strengthening of our democratic institutions,” Ndagoso told the president, and he urged that the 2027 elections be free and fair.
The CBCN delegation included senior clerics from across the country, among them Most Rev. Alfred Martins (Archbishop of Lagos), Most Rev. Peter Odetoyinbo (Bishop of Abeokuta), Cardinal John Onaiyekan (Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja), Cardinal Peter Okpalaeke (Bishop of Ekwulobia), Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama (Archbishop of Abuja) and Most Rev. Matthew Kukah (Bishop of Sokoto).
