The federal government insisted that President Buhari is not ill as being reported
- Lai Mohammed said he has a right to go on vacation in spite of recession
- He said his situation is different from Yar'Adua's own
The federal government has said that the comparison being made about President Muhammadu Buhari and late president, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was baseless as there were no similarities.
Since President Buhari travelled to the UK on vacation, there have been rumours that he has passed away although his media aides have denied them several times.
Some have pointed out that the president’s extended leave was a testimony to his failing health which they have compared to the situation of Yar’Adua when he was president.
The Nation reports that the minister of information, Lai Mohammed has described the comparison as akin to comparing apple and oranges and said the situations were different.
He said those spreading rumours that he was seriously ill were looters who were against his anticorruption crusade.
He said: “I think it was one of the newspapers that said when I was the spokesman of Action Congress (AC) I demanded for hourly bulletin on Yar’Adua’s health and that I ought to be giving hourly bulletin as minister of Information on the health of the President. And I said ‘you are comparing apples and oranges’. Mr. President is not ill; he is not in hospital. There will be no need to give anybody hourly bulletin about his health – pure and simple.
“Mr. President, like I said elsewhere, is a victim of his own transparency. He was going on leave; he did what the constitution said he should do. He transmitted a letter to the National Assembly and an acting president was put in place and he said ‘while I am on leave I am going to conduct some medical tests, which all of us do without announcing it. And, of course, less than six hours after he got there he was pronounced dead by some people. Even those who saw him climb the aircraft in Abuja said he was flown by air ambulance.
”I can assure you that Mr. President is well, he is hale and hearty and no cause for concern. The Acting President speaks to him every day and he told you so
”I won’t blame Mr. President too because this is the third time you are declaring him dead.”
When he was asked whether President Buhari has a right to go on vacation during recession, he said: “Absolutely yes. Our constitution guarantees that. Did Obama not go on leave? Do other presidents not go on leave? Mr. President will go on vacation when he has to go on vacation. Do you know how many ministers have gone on vacation this year?
”To say Mr. President cannot go on vacation that is ridiculous.”
