Presidency Attacks Bishop Kukah Over Easter Message, Says He Didn’t Speak Like Man Of God

The Nigerian presidency has attacked the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Matthew Kukah, over his recent criticism of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration due to insecurity.

During his Easter Message on Sunday, Bishop Kukah had taken a swipe at the current administration, alleging that insecurity has worsened since 2015 President Buhari came into power.

Bushop Kukah said both the government and the citizens have become helpless as criminals continue to cause havoc in parts of the country.

The cleric said many citizens are frustrated over the security situation as they wonder if the government has gone AWOL (absent without official leave).

Reacting in a statement on Sunday, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said Bishop Kukah did not speak like a man of God, adding that the cleric’s “bashing” of President Buhari is “ungodly.”

“All citizens have their ideologies, even their versions of the truth. But if you profess to be a man of God, as Father Mathew Hassan Kukah does, ideology should not stand in the way of facts and fairness.

“Father Kukah has said some things that are inexplicable in his Easter message. But, in saying that the Boko Haram terrorism is worse than it was in 2015, he did not speak like a man of God. Kukah should go to Borno or Adamawa to ask the citizens there the difference between 2014 and 2021.

“Furthermore, the Hijab issue in Kwara State on which he dwelt is a state matter which the courts of the land have adjudicated. They are matters that have appeared in several states as far back as the Obasanjo administration. In all of that, when and where did the name of President Buhari feature?

“He is playing partisan politics by dragging the President into it. For the first time in the country’s history, an administration that has created a whole ministry, appropriating enormous resources to it, to deal with issues of internally displaced persons cannot, in all rightfulness, be accused of not caring for them.

“Some of the comments are no more than a sample of the unrestrained rhetoric Fr. Kukah trades in, which he often does in the guise of a sermon. We urge well-meaning citizens to continue to support the ongoing efforts by the administration to secure the country and move it forward.”

 

KanyiDaily recalls that Muslim Solidarity Forum had asked Bishop Kukah to tender an apology to the Muslim faithful over his recent “malicious comments” against Islam or he should quietly and quickly leave Sokoto state.