A prominent Nigerian Islamic cleric, Ahmad Gumi on Wednesday denied ever saying the All Progressives Congress’s (APC) presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, was corrupt.
The Ksduna-based popular cleric made the clarification in a press statement after many dailies reported that he had told a visiting delegation of the Kaduna chapter of Ohaneze Ndigbo that Buhari was corrupt.
“I have not said, as reported during the Ndigbo visit to me, that General Buhari is also corrupt as purported and erroneous disseminated. In any case, it is not my duty to determine whether anybody is corrupt or not or to even pass a damning verdict on him,” said Gumi.
Gumi, one of the most ardent critics of President Goodluck Jonathan, said he was misinterpreted unfairly and said he was not holding brief for anyone.
“My attention was drawn to a series of deliberate misrepresentations and distortions of particularly my comments during the visit of the Kaduna chapter of Ohanaze Ndigbo in a newspaper today.
“For the records, I am not a politician and I don’t have sympathy for any of the political parties. My commitment for those that are fair and following what I do is always to ensure that the rule of law prevails in the conduct of all politicians and for the major stakeholders to avoid overheating our already saturated polity. If some of my comments, which some considered nasty and against their political interest and pursuit, will ultimately alert our largely unenlightened youths and subsequently prevent the looming bloodshed I foresaw, then the abuses and allegations of compromise against my person will be my own sacrifice to this nation.
He however said the APC presidential candidate has a fanatical followers who did not like the candidate to be criticised.
“May I state, however, that the content of my recent posting as clear as it is was publicized by some media outfits to deliberately mislead the public about my position? Many view it against Buhari or an endorsement for Jonathan. The records too are very clear. There is no Nigerian leader I persistently criticize and condemn like Jonathan because of the failure of his leadership to address many serious national issues and his deliberate policies against the interest of the north, but the supporters of Buhari are too blind to go through the records once he is criticized. In Nigeria today, criticizing Buhari will automatically qualify one to be a Kafir in the eyes of his supporters. They see anyone that speaks against what they believe in as a Jonathan man.”
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