The Presidency on Easter Monday took on the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, who, in his Easter message, lamented the deplorable state of affairs in Nigeria under the current government.

Responding, the Presidency described the Bishop’s message and lamentation as “virus of hate.”

Presidency thereafter challenged Bishop Kukah to “leave the pulpit, join partisan politics and see how far” he “can go.”

The Presidency’s response to Bishop Kukah’s Easter Message which has been trending, was issued by the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.

In a statement titled, ‘Kukah’s Virus Of Hate,’ Shehu said the cleric’s hatred against President Buhari and his government is well known.

NewsOrient recalls that in the message under contention, the Bishop lamented the sorry state of Nigeria and Nigerians and wondered why Nigeria and Nigerians would be undergoing such excruciating experiences while Buhari-led Federal Government opts to switch on “sleep mode?”

In his response, the presidential spokesman alleged that the bishop, “from his pulpit, devoted his Easter message not to Christ’s death and rebirth so Man might be saved – but to damning the government in the most un-Christian terms.”

Shehu added that Easter should be a time for renewal, and for hope and “not a time for religious leaders to play politics, or politicians to play religion.”

The presidential spokesman added: “Nigeria knows too well Bishop Kukah’s views of the government. He has made quite clear how much he dislikes them from the day they were elected.

“Whether expressing his political views is a good use or an abuse of religious office is for others to decide. But the people of Nigeria have spoken – twice: they support this government at the ballot box. They have not been swayed by hateful talk from any bully-pulpit.

“We respectfully ask Bishop Kukah to leave government to the voters and the politicians they elect, while he concentrates on his job, as it is expressed in James 1:27: ‘Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.’

“Or else, he should put away his garb, join partisan politics and see how far he can go,” he said.