BEVERLY HILLS, February 10, (THEWILL) – Austyn Ogannah, publisher of THEWILL newspaper has called on President Muhammadu Buhari and his handlers to come clean about the health status of the President in order to put paid to random speculations.
Ogannah made this known on Friday while featuring on a Channels TV programme, State of the Nation, from Beverly Hills, California, USA, stressing that nothing stops the President from putting an end to the speculations by coming clean.
“It’s very sad that we are still having discussions about the health status of the president. I recall that during his inauguration, he promised that his administration will be transparent and willing to be held accountable,” he said
“But what is happening today takes us back to the era of late President Yar Adua. With the games they are playing, in my view, there has really been no transparency or making information available in reporting concerning the health of the president.
“True, the minister of information and the Presidents spokesman did release information when he was going for his vacation abroad but that information is as vague as you can have it because one would have expected more information.
“I’m not really particular about the day to day update because considering his age, he would be frail but you have to keep Nigerians in the loop of things to avoid speculation. Is he suffering from malaria? Is it a broken bone? Is it cancer? Nigerians ought to know.
“They say the President is doing well, and he can talk, so why can’t he just come clean and talk to Nigerians. This looks like dejavu. It’s sad that we are still having this kind of conversation years after the Yar Adua saga.
“I don’t see any reason why someone that we employed will not tell us his health condition when he’s unable to work. After all, we are paying his medical bills abroad, we bore the cost of his transportation, we are still bearing the cost of his security, yes he has done the right thing by transmitting power to his deputy but we still demand to know exactly what the problem is!”
President Buhari departed Abuja about two weeks ago on a medical vacation to the UK and was due to have returned on February 5th, according to the statement released by his spokesman, Mr. Femi Adesina. Adesina later released another statement that the President had cancelled his planned return in deference to advice from his doctors.
He however did not give a new date for the return of the nation’s leader.
