BEVERLY HILLS, March 01, (THEWILL) – There was disruption of proceedings at the House of Representatives for some minutes on Tuesday as members exchanged words during plenary over the use of the word “sickness” in referring to the health status of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The disagreement over using the term “sickness” to also describe reason for Buhari’s absence from the country to the United Kingdom since January 19, was more pronounced among members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, the President’s party.
While some members said Buhari was sick and was away to treat himself, others claimed that he was just on a “medical vacation”. The main contenders were the Majority Leader of the House, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila and the Chief Whip, Hon. Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, both vocal supporters of the President.
Doguwa (Kano APC) had, while opposing a motion completely unrelated to Buhari, described the president as sick. The motion moved by Hon. Aliyu Madaki also from Kano, earlier called for an investigation into the alleged harassment of members of the Kwankwasiya movement, a political group loyal to the immediate past governor of Kano State, now Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso.
Madaki belongs to the Kwankwaso camp in the crisis enveloping the ruling APC in Kano, while Ado-Doguwa has shifted loyalty from Kwankwaso to the incumbent, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje. Kwankwaso is rumoured to be eyeing the presidency in 2019.
Ado-Doguwa, in his argument, accused the Kwankwasiya group of fomenting trouble in the state and raising tension in an environment already on the edge due to the absence of Buhari. He also considered it unwise for the Kwankwaso group to already be campaigning for the 2019 presidential polls in “a state as volatile as Kano”.
“Our beloved president is sick abroad. These partisan activities are completely unnecessary. The sponsor of the motion failed to lay the facts of the issues as they are,” Ado-Doguwa said.
But his use of the word “sick” for the President did not go down well with the Majority Leader, Gbajabiamila who shouted “point of order”.
Recognised to speak by the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Yussuff Lasun, who presided over the session, the Majority Leader demanded that Ado-Doguwa withdrew the contentious word.
According to him, “There is no factual basis for what he is saying; that Buhari is sick abroad.
“The President is not sick. At best, he can say that the President is on medical vacation.
“There is a difference between being sick and going on a medical vacation.”
This point of order was what threw the House into a turmoil, as some members raised their voices, with others saying there was no difference between going on a medical vacation and being sick.
Some lawmakers maintained that the President was sick, while others shouted in support of Gbajabiamila, saying he was right.
But when order was restored, the Deputy Speaker caused more uproar when, in a bid to support the House Leader, he too admitted that Buhari was sick.
“Let me sustain the leader’s point of order. Ado-Doguwa, you should not lay emphasis on the sickness of our President because of the security implications,” he said.
A loud laughter immediately erupted on the floor, which left Gbajabiamila defeated and helpless in his line of debate.
