The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Tuesday, slammed Alhaji Lai Mohammed over his response to the criticisms of President Muhammadu Buhari-led government’s handling of the security situation in the country, by Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, describing same as shameful.
Bishop Kukah had in a recent essay on the state of affairs in the country chided President Muhammadu Buhari for alleged nepotism and pettiness in the conduct of government business even as he accused him of playing the religious card at the expense of national cohesion.

This however did not go down well with the federal government as Information Minister; Lai Mohammed quickly issued a statement, faulting the position of the clergy man.

Mohammed had insisted that Boko Haram insurgents were nothing but terrorists, whose target cut across all faith, noting that “to now attribute the actions of this bunch to an orchestrated and systematic plan to elevate one religion over the other or decimate adherents of a particular religion is not only unfortunate but decisive, incendiary and insensitive.”

In an exclusive chat with our correspondent, PDP spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan described Lai Mohammed’s statement as shameful and an attempt to gloss over the issues raised by Bishop Kukah.

“What Bishop Kukah said was nothing but the truth. He spoke truth to power as he has been doing for years. Every Nigerian knows that President Buhari has been a divisive, partisan leader ever since he became the head of government in 2015.

“Nigeria is worse off today than she was before this party took over power. Security is broken, governance is broken with Nigerians almost resigning to fate. President Buhari has failed woefully. This is a fact!

“The Bishop summoned courage to speak truth to power by saying that all hell would have been let loose were a President of Southern extraction exhibit the kind of nepotism President Buhari is known for today,” he said.

On calls in some quarters for Kukah to stick to his evangelistic calling, Ologbondiyan maintained that it was in fulfillment of his divine mandate that the Bishop chose to speak up rather than keeping mum.

“As a Man of God, Bishop Kukah spoke on behalf of his people, ordinary Nigerians who are took weak or powerless to tackle those in power. The church is the people, not the building. He (Kukah) deserves our collective applause,” he added.