"If President Buhari is Not Sick, He Should Speak to Nigerians From UK" - NLC

The Presidency had on Thursday insisted that despite the rumour doing the rounds on President Muhammadu Buhari’s state of health, the President is not ill.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina had in an interview with CNBC Africa insisted that Buhari could not be compelled to speak from the United Kingdom, as he maintained that the President is hale and hearty.

He said the President went to London for vacation and is not in any hospital. He said, “The President is in London on vacation. He is not in any hospital and he is not ill.

“When he was travelling last week, the statement we put out was that he was going on vacation and during the vacation, he would do routine check-up and nothing has changed from what we pushed out last week.

“If anybody has fed something else into the rumour mill, that is just what it is – rumour.”

When asked if Buhari would be willing to talk to Nigerians from the UK, Adesina said the decision could only be taken by the President himself.

The presidential aide said any attempt to compel Buhari to do so would amount to infringement on his rights.

“The fact that he is a President, he still has his rights. Compelling him to come out and talk will be infringing on his rights. The President will talk if he wishes to. If he doesn’t wish to, nobody will compel him to talk.

"The truth is that the President is on vacation and he has given a date on which he will return to work,’’ Adesina said.

Also on Thursday, the Federal Government debunked the rumour doing the rounds that governors met in Abuja on Thursday and deliberated on the health of Buhari.

It said the report was false. It also added that the governors were also not planning to send representatives to London to see the President.

But the Nigeria Labour Congress has called on the President to speak to Nigerians. According to NLC, it would make a whole lot of difference if the President to make a public appearance to dispel rumours in the country about his health.

The General Secretary of the NLC, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson said this on Thursday, as he said Nigerians are very worried over the matter.

Ozo-Eson said, “In the social media, stories circulate without confirmation; I think that the easiest way is to talk publicly to the nation because the citizens are concerned about their leaders’ whereabouts.

‘If there are those who orchestrated rumours and they are not true, the easiest way is for him to reach out to Nigerians through a public appearance and a statement.

“Nigerians have a right to be certain about the health situation of their President and the people who orchestrate rumours and unsubstantiated reports, one would wish for him to call their bluff by publicly addressing the citizens.”

However, the President of the TUC, Mr. Bala Kaigama, revealed that it is not necessary that the President addresses Nigerians and should continue his rest. 

He said, “Why do we have to make noise about this? He is coming back; if he were to go and stay for a very long time, it is a different thing. If we have patience, he will come back. We are just being unnecessarily demanding.

“This is somebody who demanded a rest and he has handed over the government to the Vice-President. So our concern is how the VP is handling it; but it his health that has become the issue of the moment.

“But we should allow the old man to have his rest. It is normal for somebody of that age to need rest from time to time. If he goes to rest that does not mean that government will not work now. Let the old man enjoy his rest.

“If he does not come back on the day he is supposed to come, that is when can  talk, but for now, let’s allow him to have his rest, why does he have to come and address us? It doesn’t make any sense.”