Why Act Like Attack Dogs?’ – Oluoma Slams Bwala, Onanuga Over Onaiyekan Criticism

A Catholic priest of the Abuja Archdiocese, Rev. Fr. John Chinenye Oluoma, popularly known as Fada Oluoma, has criticised presidential media aides Daniel Bwala and Bayo Onanuga, accusing them of responding to criticism of President Bola Tinubu’s administration with personal attacks instead of constructive engagement.

Oluoma made the remarks in a Facebook post on Sunday while reacting to the controversy surrounding comments made by Cardinal John Onaiyekan during an interview on Arise Television about Nigeria’s economic situation.

The priest questioned the reaction of the President’s media team, arguing that the cardinal merely highlighted the economic hardship many Nigerians are currently experiencing, which he said contrasts with the government’s more optimistic assessment of the economy.

He faulted one of the presidential aides for accusing Onaiyekan of bias and unethical conduct, describing the response as unnecessary and inflammatory.

Oluoma reserved particular criticism for Daniel Bwala, alleging that the presidential spokesman escalated the attacks against the cleric.

“The first problem is with the president’s media aide who escalated this by accusing the Cardinal of bias and unethical behaviour. That’s totally unnecessary and provocative. Then characters like Daniel Bwala took the campaign of calumny against the Cardinal to an insane level.

“I don’t know why media aides to presidents in this country think their job is to behave like attack dogs.

“I expected Bayo Onanuga and his cohorts to respectfully and intelligently disagree with whatever the Cardinal said that they didn’t like.

“All they needed do is explain how ‘rosy’ the economy has become or is becoming under Tinubu. Just reel out the macro and micro indices that support your position on the economy and allow Nigerians to judge. Bantering the cleric for saying what is obvious does your government no good.”

According to Oluoma, government spokespersons should have countered the criticism by presenting verifiable economic data to support the administration’s claims instead of attacking those expressing contrary views.

He maintained that many Nigerians continue to grapple with severe economic hardship, noting that citizens judge the state of the economy by the rising cost of food and other essential goods rather than official statistics.

While acknowledging that President Tinubu’s administration has introduced reforms that could produce long-term benefits, the priest argued that such measures should not be used to downplay the immediate financial struggles facing millions of Nigerians.

Oluoma also defended Cardinal Onaiyekan and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), insisting that the church has consistently spoken out on issues affecting citizens’ welfare regardless of which political party is in power.