Former Rivers State Governor and ex-Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has defended the right of religious leaders to openly criticise governments, saying they have a duty to speak truth to power and draw attention to the country's challenges.

Amaechi made the remarks on Tuesday during an appearance on Channels Television's Politics Today, where he reacted to recent criticism of President Bola Tinubu's administration by Catholic bishops.

The former minister argued that religious leaders should never be intimidated or silenced for speaking on national issues, stressing that they serve as the moral conscience of society.

"If they don't, who else can?" Amaechi said. "Didn't he listen to the Pope? The Pope was against the war."

Drawing a comparison with events in the United States, Amaechi referenced the backlash that followed former U.S. President Donald Trump's criticism of Pope Leo XIV over the pontiff's opposition to the war in Iran.

"The Catholics in America said, 'You can't say that of our Pope.' All I know is that the population of Catholics is about 35 million, and you just can't insult all of us like that. You can't," he stated.

Amaechi also recalled his time as Minister of Transportation under former President Muhammadu Buhari, noting that the administration chose to address concerns raised by the Catholic Church instead of attacking its leaders when they criticised the government over rising insecurity.

"When the Catholic Church came after Buhari, I was in Buhari's government. And I'm a Catholic. You know what we did? We all kept quiet and looked at the issues they wanted us to address," he said.

"The issues that brought them out to the streets were insecurity. It's worse now."

Defending his record in office, Amaechi insisted that Nigeria's railway services functioned more efficiently during his tenure than they do under the current administration.

"By the time we left, there was a railway from Lagos to Ibadan four times a day. Today it's only once," he said.

"By the time we left, there was a railway from Kaduna to Abuja four to six times a day. Today it goes only once."

Amaechi's comments come amid a sustained exchange between the Tinubu administration and senior Catholic clerics over the country's political and economic direction.

On June 28, President Bola Tinubu hosted the leadership of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), led by its President, Archbishop Matthew Ndagoso, at the State House in Abuja. During the meeting, Tinubu defended the neutrality of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and dismissed criticisms from his political opponents, saying they were "afraid of their own shadows and uncertainty in the companies they keep."

However, former Archbishop of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, later challenged the administration's assessment of the country's situation during an appearance on *Prime Time* on Arise Television. The cleric accused those around the President of presenting him with an overly optimistic picture that fails to reflect the realities confronting ordinary Nigerians. He also alleged that the Tinubu administration appeared determined to secure victory in the 2027 general election "by all means."

Onaiyekan's remarks prompted a sharp response from the President's Special Adviser on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, who accused the cardinal of making political comments rather than offering a purely religious perspective.