Bishop Kukah Confesses, Says Jonathan Sent Peace Committee

Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sokoto and member of the National Peace Committee, has said in an interview with SaharaTV that the Committee’s recent meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari was made at the behest of Goodluck Jonathan, who pleaded that it ask President Buhari to refrain from an all-out corruption probe of his administration.

In an exclusive interview with SaharaTV correspondent Rudolf Okonkwo, Bishop Kukah
mentioned that prior to the meeting, the Committee had spoken with former President
Goodluck Jonathan as well as Senate President Bukola Saraki. He said that President
Jonathan specifically sent the Committee to President Buhari.
Bishop Kukah also discussed issues ranging from the possible probe on the Jonathan
administration to prospects for peace in Nigeria.
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.