Stop making issues out of Buhari’s medical trip – Oshiomhole

Saturday, January 28, 2017 7:58 pm

Ex Gov. Oshiomhole

Jethro Ibileke/Benin

Former Governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, has said that like every other persons, President Mohammadu Buhari has the right to access health facilities wherever he chooses and nobody can question his choice of places.

Oshiomhole who said this at Iyamho, his hometown on Saturday, said it was unnecessary for Nigerians to dwell on the President’s medical trip abroad, when there were other areas they could concentrate on.

While urging Nigerians to pray for Buhari’s quick recovery, rather than making an issues of his medical trip abroad, Oshiomhole admonished Nigerians to stop celebrating what is wrong but to learn to promote those things that can best unite the nation.

He noted that as a former governor of Edo state, he has had cause to use state funds to sponsor both the rich and the poor abroad for their medical trip.

“At least it is unnecessary, let’s be honest. As the then governor of Edo State, I have had cause to sponsor people abroad for their medical check-up and the records are there. I had sponsored, first, the medical doctors who requested for it in black and white that they wanted to be treated either in Indian, UK or USA.

“And I will ask why and they will give me variety of reasons why they needed that foreign medical check up.

“I have seen villagers approaching me that they have prostrate cancer, they have gone to local hospitals and that they have challenges and they want support to go to Indian and I have used State’s fund to support all kinds of people, including the media, farmers, politicians. Myself, I have had cause to travel outside Nigeria for a comprehensive medical check when I was in doubt.

“The experience of Gani Fayemi shows us that even with the best of effort, he tried to do his diagnosis in Lagos. He was diagnosed for pneumonia, I can still remember, whereas his problem was cancer. If it was detected early, it would have been treated.

“So if ordinary Nigerian labourers, Nigerian medical doctors find time to go and do routine medical check up, why will anybody make a big issue that any Nigerian, including our President, should be denied the right for a thorough check? Why should that be an issue?” he asked.

Commenting on why he has kept a very low profile in the State’s politics, the former governor said it is an opportunity for the new governor of the state to bring to bear his wealth of experiences.

“I have been out of Benin so that the new governor can at least can be free to fashion out his own ideas. The truth is that, when you stay too long in a particular office, you become dormant and without ideas because you have stayed for too long. But when a new person comes in, he has his own hunger to make a statement.

“In this world, there are varieties of style and each person is entitled to one but when I heard of what is going on in Edo State, the renewed focus on investment, interest of investors in the various sectors to create the jobs that we badly needed for our youths, I feel extremely fulfilled,” he said.