Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Mathew Kukah, has denied attacking the personality of President Muhammadu Buhari while delivering his Easter message at the weekend.
Mr Kukah who stated this on Tuesday while featuring on Arise TV was reacting to the accusations by the presidency that his message was full of hate about the president.
The cleric had accused the incumbent administration of dividing Nigerians, destroying the country and allowing only corruption to thrive.
Clarifying his statement, Kukah said what he said was about the administration and not the president who he described as a gentleman “but as far as being the president is concerned, he has done a bad job.”
He argued that he was not the first to criticize the administration as the president’s wife has equally kicked against the policies of her husband.
“All those saying I attacked the president, I have never attacked his person,” he denied. “All I have spoken about is his inability to manage diversities effectively and efficiently. I have studied diversity as a subject, and I know what I am talking about.
“Those who think these things are personal would see that I have never talked about his person or character; I believe he is a gentleman, but as far as being the president is concerned, he has done a bad job. I’m not the first person to disagree with Buhari’s policies, even his wife has done so.
“So, those guys should not sit in their air-conditioned office drinking coffee and think everything is honky-donkey. Let them disagree with the text of my message.
“Let me set the record straight, I delivered my sermon to my congregation and the message. The bearers of the message are directed primarily to the good people of Sokoto diocese.
“The president knows that I have great respect for him, and he is a gentleman, but he has done a terribly bad job as the president of Nigeria.
“There is nothing I am saying that is new, all the pastors who preached yesterday during the Easter service said the same thing. Tell me one thing about the message that I preached that you disagree with, and let’s discuss,” he added.
