Finally, the Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, has eaten the humble pie. The Governor has apologised, profusely, to the Roman Catholic Church for dragging the name of the Catholic Pontiff into the murky waters of Nigerian politics, while defending his appointment as the Director General of the Presidential Campaign of the candidates of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Tinubu and Kashim Shettima.
Lalong’s problem with the Roman Catholic Church began when he was appointed the DG of the Campaign Organisation for the APC Muslim-Muslim ticket.
Most Christians were uncomfortable with the ticket, and angry at Lalong’s acceptance to lead the Campaign. They saw the ticket as an insult on the Christian faith and were surprised at Lalong.
Lalong is not only of the Catholic faith, he is a Papal Knight.
To defend himself for accepting to lead the campaign of a Muslim-Muslim ticket, Lalong dragged the office of the revered Catholic Pope into it.
He told the State House Correspondents that the Pope, who is the Head of the Catholic Church, is not against his acceptance of the position.
The dragging of the Pope’s name and office, angered Roman Catholic faithfuls, and especially, Papal Knights. They accused Governor Lalong of disrespect to the office of the Pope by dragging his name into local politics. Not a few asked for Lalong’s suspension as a Papal Knight.
In a letter of protest addressed to the Governor, the National President of the Association of Papal Knights and Medalists in Nigeria, APKMN, Dame Esther Uduehi, scolded Lalong. She expressed the disappointment of APKMN members in Lalong and said that “The Executive of the Association of Papal Knights and Medalists in Nigeria will be meeting to take a decision and make recommendations to CBCN and thereafter to the Papal Nuncio.”
The letter reads:
“My dear Sir Simon Lalong,
Governor of Plateau State, I write to you as the National President of Papal Knights and Medalists in Nigeria, (APKMN), to express the disappointment of all Papal Honorees in Nigeria at a statement credited to you which would tend to bring the revered image and person of the Holy Father, the Pope into your Local Politics.
“Your action, to say the least, is not only disappointing but condemnable and not expected of a Catholic and more so of a Papal Knight.
“The Holy Father is a busy man and does not interact with individuals so easily as you will want Nigerians to believe. I have been mandated by all Papal Knights and Medalists in Nigeria who feel betrayed by your Statement to ask you to produce evidence of your claim or refute the statement credited to you.
An ardent Catholic and a Papal honoree at that, ought to know where and when to apply the break in discussing issues of the Church.
“No true Catholic, no matter his/her position in the society will deliberately politicize the revered name of the Pope for the purpose of a position in a localized political matter of any country.
“The executive of the Association of Papal Knights and Medalists in Nigeria will be meeting to take a decision and make recommendations to CBCN and thereafter to the Papal Nuncio.”
The reactions and the letter shook Lalong. He needed to apologise for two reasons. One, not to hurt the campaign of the APC candidate the more by antagonising the Roman Catholic Church, and two, to avoid being penalised by APKMN, or even being stripped of his Papal Knighthood by the Pope.
To avoid those, Governor Lalong has tendered an unreserved apology to the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, CBCN.
In the letter addressed to the President of the CBCN, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Owerri, His Grace, Archbishop Lucius Ugorji, the Governor asked for forgiveness, and restated his commitment to the Catholic faith. He promised to continue to uphold the banner of the Christian faith in his public life.
The letter entitled: “Letter of Apology”, and dated August 12, 2022, which the Governor personally signed, reads:
“I have followed, with some shock and deep regret, the reactions that have trailed my appointment as the Director-General of the Campaign Council for the Presidential Candidates of our Party, the All Progressive Congress, APC, Ahmed Bola Tinubu and Ibrahim Shettima.
“The appointment, understandably, was received with mixed reactions across the Christian community who genuinely feel aggrieved by the decision of our party to settle for a Muslim Muslim ticket.
“While many people commended me for the appointment and saw it as a way of remaining within the system to fight for our own interests, others cast aspersions on it on the grounds that our faith had been insulted and denigrated.
“In the course of this, many of my opponents turned the issue into a political weapon with some spreading rumours and questioning the integrity of my credentials as a Catholic and a Papal Knight.
“In trying to make my case, I have granted interviews to justify why I believe that the appointment did not in any way undermine my commitment to the Catholic Church.
“During the week, in the course of defending myself, I had cause to make reference to my credentials as a Catholic and a Papal Knight. In the process, I made reference to the Holy Father.
“I now realise that this was an error on my part and has caused some level of concern and even embarrassment to many, especially the Members of the family of Papal Knights to which I belong.
“I now understand that I may have overreached myself in the course of trying to defend my personal decision in accepting this appointment and thus, the reference to the holy father was not intended as an act of disrespect to his exalted and revered office.
“Your Grace, by this written letter, I wish to tender my unreserved apologies and ask for their understanding and forgiveness from my brothers in the Catholic faith and, through you, the entire members of the Bishops’ Conference, our Fathers and our Leaders.
“My commitment to the Catholic faith to which belong remains unreserved and undiluted. I will continue to uphold the banner of my faith in public life as I have done over the years
“You may recall, Your Grace, that in the last five or so years, I have been at the forefront of facilitating our dialogue as politicians with you our fathers in the faith. I remain committed to this and pray that you will continue to encourage us as we ascend the slippery slope of politics.”
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