The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said that the Bishop of Sokoto Catholic Diocese, Most Rev. Matthew Kukah’s criticism of President Muhammadu Buhari in his Christmas message was “ungodly”.
Director of Publicity for the APC, Bala Ibrahim also said that the cleric’s speeches lacked objectivity, The Punch reported on Monday.
In his 2022 Christmas message titled, ‘Nigeria: Let us turn a new leaf,’, Kukah faulted Buhari for failing to fulfil his 2015 campaign promises.
He added that Buhari would be leaving office in good health but Nigerians were in pain his administration inflicted on them as a result of this failure.
Kukah, a strong critic of the Buhari administration, specifically highlighted nepotism as a hallmark of Buhari’s administration.
‘’I speak for myself and Nigerians when I say, we thank God that He mercifully restored you to good health.
‘’We know that you are healthier now than you were before. We can see it in the spring in your steps, the thousands of miles you have continued to cover as you travel abroad. May God give you more years of good health.
‘’However, I also wish that millions of our citizens had a chance to enjoy just a fraction of your own health by a measurable improvement in the quality of health care in our country.
‘’It is sad that despite your lofty promises, you are leaving us far more vulnerable than when you came, that the corruption we thought would be fought has become a leviathan and sadly, a consequence of a government marked by nepotism.
‘’In my Christmas message last year, I pointed out the fact that you had breached the Constitution by your failure to honour and adhere to the federal character provisions of our Constitution. The evidence is all before us all.’’
He added that many Nigerians were in forests held captive by bandits and other marauders under the president’s watch.
Kukah said that this has caused deep sorrow and left Nigerians bearing scars.
Read full text of Kukah’s 2022 Christmas message.
However, the APC publicity director, Bala Ibrahim, flayed Kukah over his comments about Buhari and the incumbent APC-led government, saying his speeches lacked objectivity.
Ibrahim, who is a former BBC editor, said, “I hold him (Kukah) in high esteem and respect him because he is a senior brother to a friend.
“Secondly, he is a man of God. But I am sorry to say that sometimes his speeches are ungodly. Ungodly in the sense that he does not seem to be objective at times.
“If you are going to be objective or speak with fairness, you cannot but give credit to Buhari for the way and manner he handles this country.
“When we talk about healthcare, if Kukah is insinuating that Buhari has used public office or his position to access better healthcare, I think he has not been fair to him. All the medical attention the President has been getting has been abroad and at no cost to the government. He has been seeing the same set of doctors he was seeing in the last 40 years. This is not a new hospital he visits. It is the same facility and doctors he uses for years in London long before he became the military head of state.
“Buhari has not taken advantage of Nigerian healthcare to the betterment of his own health. Kukah himself knows that very well because we have discussed it in the past.
“Also, when he said there were a number of students or children still in the forest, I don’t know if he’s talking about the Chibok girls or the ones that were taken recently? If you look at the ones taken under the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, look at the speed and efforts made to recover them within a short period of time. I think we must give kudos to the president.
“In the time when Chibok girls were taken, the government even refused to admit they were taken. That was how the lexicon ‘There is God’ came into our dictionary. They did not even admit that such a thing happened let alone acted to set them free. But this government came and within a short period sprang into action and some of these children were released even if it was in piecemeal. At least, we are still getting them.
“All the passengers on the Kaduna-Abuja train who were abducted had been freed without casualties. If you look at the speed and the rate of bombardment by the Air Force, you will agree with me that they are hitting these people hard so much that many of them are surrendering and giving up.
“You will not say this government is not doing well at securing and getting people freed from captivity. Gone are the days when Boko Haram attacked in a ruthless manner that they used to do, you don’t get to see that anymore because they have been decimated and no longer have the capacity for any spectacular attack anymore.
“So when a man of God speaks in an ungodly manner, I tend to feel uncomfortable. As I said earlier, he is not a man I will want to join issue with. I still respect him as a senior brother and hold him in high esteem. But I will want him every time he talks to do so in consultation with his conscience.”