Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sokoto and member of the National Peace Committee, in an interview with SaharaTV denied recent allegations in the media that the committee’s recent meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari was made at the behest of Goodluck Jonathan.
Editorial note: A previous version of this story incorrectly quoted Bishop Kukah as saying that former President Goodluck Jonathan had sent the National Peace Committee to President Buhari to plead on his behalf. This version has been updated with Bishop Kukah's correct comments.
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 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.