From: Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, has said only President Muhammadu Buhari would tell Nigerians when he is coming back to the country.
Adesina said this to State House correspondents who took him up on his earlier statement that the president said he needed a longer period of rest, necessitating his staying longer than originally planned.
When asked to confirmed reports that the President might be out for several months, Adesina said, “What we have just said is what I will want us to believe. The President said he needs to rest further. The same President that communicated that to us, when it is time for him to come, he will also communicate to us”.
On when Buhari is expected back, the Presidential Spokesman reiterated what he wrote in the statement, “The President wants Nigerians to know that he appreciates their prayers; he appreciates their concerns and their goodwill. He has added that there is really no cause to worry.
“He is the one who owns the body and there is nobody who will know his body more than him and he says no cause to worry.
“It makes sense to say that maybe from the results of the tests, further rests had been recommended. The statement did not say how long the rest will last.
“I speak for somebody; I do not speak for myself. So it is what he tells me to say that I say and the statement transmitted to me is that the President needs to rest for some further time”.
On the possibility of the President speaking to Nigerians?, Adesina replied, “What he has just done is to speak to Nigerians”.
Asked to state exactly what is wrong with the President, Adesina replied, “Don’t you know that the Hippocratic Oath even forbids a doctor from speaking about the condition of his patient except the patient authorises it? It is only the patient himself who can speak about what he is going through. This is the person going through these series of tests and rest and he says no cause to worry, let us believe that”.
Asked why a journalist trying to reach the President was being harassed in London, Adesina said, “I do not consider that an harassment. Presidents are not hijacked and interviewed. Those things are scheduled. So, I do not consider that as harassment.”
On the claim that the President has lost his voice, Adesina said, “Those people need to prove it. He spoke with President Trump. Did Trump say he did not speak with Nigerian President. Anybody can allege anything.
“My message to Nigerians is that let us learn to believe our leaders. This is a man we elected into office and he says no cause to worry, let us believe him”.