Archbishop of Abuja Catholic Archdiocese, His Eminence, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, CON, has dissociated himself from an interview purportedly granted by him to an online news medium on December 20, in which he is alleged to have made some damaging statements about the reputation of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Personal Secretary to the Cardinal, Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Ojeifo, in a signed statement made available to News Express called on those behind the malicious act to repent and seek for God’s forgiveness.

In the purported interview, the Cardinal was quoted to have said: “There is no sign that Nigeria has a president”; “If you recall, the incumbent president has a long history of a dictator, and never obeys court orders. He has not changed himself but wish to change Nigeria”; “Three times he has disobeyed court orders in less than a year in office”.

The Cardinal was also alleged to have said that President Buhari is an oppressor who has undermined the Nigerian Constitution and that he should tender an unreserved apology to the nation for the embarrassment of his leadership, for the deaths of unarmed civilians who were brutally killed by overzealous security agents, and for the embarrassment he has caused Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader Nnamdi Kanu and his pregnant wife.

Ojeifo said: “He did not grant any such interview to any journalist or any print or online news medium. The general public should beware of this, and stop the further dissemination of the fictitious interview. It is certainly the handiwork of mischievous people who want to capitalise on the credibility of the Cardinal to sow discord and disaffection in the land.”

•Photo shows Cardinal Onaiyekan.