A former Spokesperson to President Muhammadu Buhari, Femi Adesina, has reacted to the assertion by the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Mathew Hassan Kukah, that Nigeria witnessed the ugliest phase of corruption under the immediate-past Buhari administration, saying the cleric was only pained for not getting patronage from government.
The popular cleric had spoken in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital on Monday during a lecture he delivered at the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the call to bar of the founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, Aare Afe Babalola (SAN).
The lecture was titled, ‘The future of constitutional democracy in Nigeria: Imperative of a new constitutional order’.
While clarifying that the trend didn’t start under Buhari, Kukah, however, maintained that corruption festered under the ex-President’s watch.
He said, “We have seen the worst phase of corruption in Nigeria. Femi Falana, my friend here, will speak about that because he has published a series of articles talking about what happened under the Buhari administration.
“They were not the ones who caused corruption but I think in the last administration, we saw the ugliest phase of corruption whether in moral terms, financial terms, and other terms,” he said.
The Catholic Bishop, who called on the Federal Government to avoid sentiments in the process of the country’s democratic journey, said upholding the provisions of democracy required selfless service which should not be sentimentally driven to foster development.
He frowned at leaders, who limited development to their hometowns, saying, “This does not project democracy. This does not speak well of our democracy.
“Nigeria needs to grow democratically and developed politically. Every federal institution must reflect what Nigeria should reflect all over the country. The country should stop reinforcing inequality. There must be sanctions and consequences for those who go against our democracy and the constitution of the land for us to have a better society.”
But, Adesina, who was the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Buhari between 2015 and 2023, took to his Twitter handle on Tuesday and played down the assertion by Kukah, asking if anyone still listen to the Catholic Bishop.
He claimed that Kukah was still pained for not getting favours from the Buhari government unlike before.
Adesina wrote: “Who listens to that Bishop again. He’s still pained that he got no under-the-cassock patronage from Buhari, unlike in the past. As e dey pain them, e dey sweet us.”
