The Special Adviser to the Nigerian President on Media and Publicity, Mr
Femi Adesina, says all that President Buhari needs from Nigerians is
prayer.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, Mr Adesina said via the
telephone that knowing the actual health condition the President has been
treating is not compulsory for Nigerians to pray for him.
He had few hours earlier released a statement announcing the President’s
request to have his vacation extended as advised by his doctors to enable
him receive the results of series of tests carried out on him.
Mr Adesina insisted that the reason for the extension was not more than he
had stated in his statement.
He called on Nigerians to continue to pray for the President rather than
allowing the latest news sway them into believing recent rumours that he
had died.
Faced with the question that Nigerians would like to know the actual
condition their president is being treated for to enable them offer
prayers for him, Adesina insisted that Nigerians can pray for him without
knowing the actual health condition.
He noted that the doctor-patient confidentiality must be respected,
especially as the President is known to be a straightforward person who
could disclose his condition to the citizens if the need arises.
“I am sure it will get to a point when the President has to disclose the
status of his health if it needs to be disclosed. If it’s something
serious enough to disclose, I am sure he will disclose it,” he said.
He explained that he could not disclose the nature of health challenge the
President is dealing with because he was not aware.
“The President is the one who can release his own health status.
“The day he left, we still spoke. He didn’t tell me ‘this is my
condition’. He told me he was going to rest and he would do medicals and
that was included in the statement we released,” he added.
Asked if he knew when the President would be returning, Adesina said: “If
there was a date he would return, it would have been in that statement.
“But the issue now is (that) there is no vacuum in government. No lacuna
because power has been transferred to the Vice President who is acting
president.
“So, Mr President can take the time he desires and when his doctors give
him a clean bill of health, he then can return home.”