LAGOS AUGUST 18TH (URHOBOTODAY)-In an interview with SaharaTV, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sokoto and member of the National Peace Committee, denied recent allegations in the media that the Nnational Peace Committee’s recent meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari was made at the behest of Goodluck Jonathan.
Bishop Kukah made a recent statement on the goals of the National Peace Committee, saying “Our own commitment is not to intimidate or fight anybody.”
In the exclusive interview with SaharaTV correspondent Rudolf Okonkwo, Bishop Kukah explained, “What we were saying was a response to the allegations that were widely made in some sections of the media that somehow the idea behind our visiting the president was because somebody—I mean President Jonathan specifically—had sent us to go and plead with President Buhari over what the president had been saying about the need for a probe. And so on and so forth.
“We were interested in saying that our role is not to run anybody’s errands. Our role is basically to give encouragement to our politicians on behalf of Nigerians. That we had free and fair elections and Nigerians want to see a new dawn in place.”
Bishop Kukah also mentioned that prior to the meeting, the Committee spoke with leadership of both the All People’s Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), as well as Senate President Bukola Saraki.
Bishop Kukah commended President Buhari for the work he has so far done but stated that his Party, the All Peoples Congress (APC), was voted to govern, and that their focus should be on governing, which is what Nigerians are eager for. Bishop Kukah stated that he could tell President Buhari has been taking his job seriously since his inauguration.
When asked whether Bishop Kukah believes the Peace Committee was afraid that President Buhari may have been fair in the past when he probed previous governments for corruption, he made sure to convey how much the Committee wants Mr. Buhari to use due process during investigations.
“A point we want to make very clear is that we are in a democracy, and [this] is an investigation, not a probe. We were simply saying that we don’t think anyone should be criminalized when nobody has been brought before a court. We are speaking on behalf of ordinary Nigerians,” Bishop Kukah said.
Bishop Kukah made it a point to display the Committee’s stance of indifference towards politics when dealing with issues that concern the well-being of Nigerians.
“We want to see a qualitative and quantitative change in the lives of Nigerians. Nobody knows how Buhari’s presidency will end, nobody knows what will happen to him when he [finishes] his tenure. The stick that they are using to whip Jonathan may be the stick that they will use to whip Buhari tomorrow,” Bishop Kukah said.
It therefore thanked Nigerians for their overwhelming support for the Buhari Administration in its tough but important task of tracing and recovering the loots, while also ensuring that the looters face justice.
”It is absolutely gratifying that Nigerians are vehemently opposed to the few who would rather have the government of the day turn a blind eye to the looted funds and, in their words, carry on with the process of governance.
”Truly, what sort of governance can go on if the billions of Naira in a few hands are not recovered? In the first instance, the government needs every kobo of the funds it can muster to bring about the change it has promised Nigerians. Secondly, leaving such hair-raising funds in the hands of the few looters is dangerous, because they can use the funds to destabilize any government. In fact, no one will be surprised if the looters use their dirty funds to sponsor public demonstrations against the government’s determination to recover the funds.
”Thirdly, allowing those who privatized the commonwealth to get away is offering a thumbs-up for looting. No responsible government will do that,” APC said.
The party said that already, the looters have embarked on a relentless and an increasingly-bold campaign to discredit the government of the day and sabotage the funds’ recovery process, using newspaper columnists, ‘talking heads’ and otherwise respectable opinion leaders.
”They and their paid hirelings have tried to employ sophistry to muddle the waters, but Nigerians are much wiser, and will not succumb to the dirty antics of the looters’ megaphones,” it said.
APC said it is necessary to remind Nigerians of the kind of massive looting of the treasury that took place in the past few years, so they can better appreciate the seriousness of the issue at stake. It therefore listed some instances of the looting as follows: