The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Matthew Kukah, on Monday, said Nigeria witnessed the ugliest face of corruption during the last administration led by ex-president Muhammadu Buhari.
He spoke in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, 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, the cleric 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.
In his lecture, Kukah made a case for men of integrity in the judiciary particularly at the Supreme Court.
The 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”.
