Senator Orji Uzor Kalu appeared to strike a different tone on Wednesday as he moved from openly backing the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) over its criticism of the Federal Government to defending President Bola Tinubu against allegations of disrespecting the Church.

Just days after urging the government to heed the bishops’ warnings on insecurity, poverty and governance, the former Abia State governor insisted that there was no conflict between President Tinubu and the Catholic Church, arguing that comments made by presidential aides should not be attributed to the President.

Speaking on Politics Today on Channels Television, Kalu maintained that the bishops were right to raise concerns about the state of the nation but said President Tinubu had done nothing to warrant calls for an apology to the Catholic Church.

“The Catholic Bishops were right. If they had said anything less than what they said, they would no longer be the conscience of this country,” Kalu said.

He, however, quickly defended the President, saying, “The Villa is not President Tinubu. President Tinubu has a very good relationship with the Catholic Church.”

He added that if Tinubu ever deliberately disrespected the Church, he would resign from the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The remarks marked a shift from Kalu’s earlier position, in which he unequivocally aligned himself with the Catholic bishops and urged the Federal Government to pay attention to their message rather than dismiss it.

At the time, Kalu had described the bishops as one of the few institutions willing to speak truth to power without partisan interests.

“The Catholic Church has always played a vital role in speaking truth to power. Whenever the Catholic Bishops offer advice, it is not out of partisanship or political bargaining but out of a genuine concern for the well-being of the nation and its people,” he had said.

He also argued that the bishops were merely articulating the daily realities confronting Nigerians and warned against attacking them.

“They are simply pointing out the realities Nigerians face every day and urging the government to address them. Rather than dismissing or attacking their views, the government should listen and reflect on the concerns they have raised,” Kalu had stated.

But in his latest intervention, while insisting that the bishops’ criticisms were justified, Kalu shifted the focus to defending Tinubu, arguing that the President should not be held responsible for statements credited to his aides.

Beyond the Church controversy, Kalu also mounted a vigorous defence of the administration’s economic reforms, insisting that Nigeria’s macroeconomy had stabilised despite widespread hardship.

He acknowledged that many Nigerians were struggling but argued that improvements in exchange rate stability, fuel pricing and investor confidence showed that the reforms were beginning to yield results.

The senator also predicted that Tinubu would remain the candidate to beat in the 2027 presidential election, dismissing the opposition as too divided to pose a serious challenge.

Kalu’s latest comments are likely to fuel debate over what critics may see as an attempt to balance his public support for the Catholic bishops with his loyalty to the ruling APC and President Tinubu, even as the controversy over the bishops’ criticism of the administration continues to dominate political discourse.