17/6/15
Gbenga OMOTOSO,
Editor,
The Nation
Dear Sir,
SARAKI’S ELECTIONS UNACCEPTABLE, SAYS ABDUSALAMI PANEL.
A REFUTAL AND DEMAND FOR APOLOGY.
I write to express my disgust with the very mischievous misuse of the Press Statement issued by the National Peace Committee by your paper today. In one of your headline stories on the front page, titled, Saraki election unacceptable says Abdusalami Panel, you imply that the Committee condemned the election of Senator Saraki. No such thing was intended or implied in the statement. The statement does not contain the name of a single individual except the signatories.
First, there is nothing like an Abdusalami Panel as your implied. What we have is a National Peace Committee which was convened in the wake of the national anxiety ahead of the Presidential elections. We issued the Statement largely to calm frayed nerves, to encourage the National Assembly to resolve their problems and not to enter into judgment about the outcome of the process.
I perfectly understand the bias of your paper and what it would have loved to have the Committee say. I have also taken note of the fact that your paper is the only one that misled its readers. We have not intention of fighting anyone’s war. However, we were careful and tried merely to encourage a matured resolution of the problem. We are glad that this is happening. We respect the integrity of the distinguished members of the National Assembly and believe in their ability to resolve their problems. We were merely pointing them in this direction.
Finally, we believe that the caliber of men and women who make up the Committee command the respect of Nigerians. We believe that the Committee is positioned to do more to encourage our nation on the path of peace and national unity. The least you can do is to pursue truth and not allow your imagination to run wild. I demand an apology Sent from Banks mobile device
God bless you,
Yours faithfully
Bishop Matthew Hassan KUKAH
Catholic Bishop of Sokoto and Convener, National Peace Committee.
