Fact-Check: Did Bishop Kukah Say Atiku, Obi Are Not as Prepared as Tinubu for Presidency?
Claim: A claim went viral online in which the controversial Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Matthew Hassan-Kukah, was alleged to have said that Atiku Abubakar of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of Labour Party (LP) were not prepared for Nigeria’s presidency, except Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of All Progressives Congress (APC).
Full-Text: An online news platform, NIGERIAN NOTCH published a news article titled; “ATIKU, OBI NOT PREPARED, ONLY TINUBU IS PREPARED TO BE NIGERIA’S PRESIDENT – BISHOP KUKAH.”
The statement which was credited to Bishop Matthew Hassan-Kukah further emphasized that all the previous military and democratic presidents that Nigeria had including the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari assumed the office unprepared.
The NIGERIAN NOTCH claimed that Hassan-Kukah made this statement in an interview with Channels Television.
The article in which the claim was made as published by the NIGERIAN NOTCH read in full as follow:
“The controversial Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Matthew Hassan-Kukah, has said that President Muhammadu Buhari , former presidents Goodluck Jonathan and Olusegun Obasanjo, among others that led Nigeria, became presidents unprepared.
“According to the bishop, no President or Head of State in the history of Nigeria ever came prepared for the job of the number one citizen of the country except the President Elect Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu who has been nursing and preparing for the task decades ago.
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“Speaking in an interview with Channels Television on Sunday, Mr. Kukah said, “You can go all the way down in Nigeria, you’re not going to find one single person who has been President or Head of State in Nigeria that came prepared for the job.”
He further said that Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi were not prepared for the job.
Verification: A check on the YouTube platform of Channel TV led to a 49mins granted by Kukah. His analogy on lack of preparedness of Nigerian leaders through history started at 07:30mins of the video. PRNigeria notes that Kukah did not single out Atiku, Obi, or even Tinubu while giving the analogy.
Meanwhile, the renowned cleric has also denied saying that presidential candidates of PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and LP, Peter Obi were not fit to be president of Nigeria.
The cleric who spoke through a statement issued by the Director, Directorate of Social Communications, Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Rev. Fr. Christopher Omotosho, said that the claim was doctored from the interview he had with Channels Television.
Kukah blamed “certain desperate individuals” for circulating fake stories about him on the presidential candidates.
Conclusion: While Kukah has officially denied the claim, a review of the interview he granted Channels TV where the claim was taken out from, shows that while Kukah made an analogy of Nigerian leaders from Military Heads of State through civilian Administrations starting from Obasanjo, Yar’Adua, Jonathan and Buhari, Mr Kukah did not mention Peter Obi, Atiku Abubakar nor Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Therefore, PRNigeria concludes that the claim that Atiku and Obi are not prepared for Nigeria’s presidency as much as Tinubu as credited to Bishop Matthew Hassan-Kukah is MISLEADING.
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By PRNigeria
