Both condemnation and justification yesterday trailed the official disclosure that President Muhammadu Buhari would again travel to the United Kingdom on a private visit.
“President Muhammadu Buhari will on Saturday, November 2, 2019, proceed to the United Kingdom on a private visit. He is expected to return to Nigeria on November 17, 2019,” said Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity Femi Adesina in a statement
The president, meanwhile, left the country yesterday on an official trip to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to attend the Economic Forum of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh. On the sidelines of the event, he will hold bilateral talks with His Majesty King Salman and His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan.
There has been no official announcement on what the private visit entails. Similar trips in the past, however, had stirred animated discussions about the state of the president’s health.
On June 6, 2016, Buhari left Nigeria for his first medical vacation. He took a 10-day trip to London to treat an ear infection and extended the mission by three days for more rest. He returned on June 19, 2016. On January 19, 2017, he again travelled to the U.K. on medical leave and returned March 10 after spending 51 days out of the country. Forty days after (May 8, 2017), Buhari travelled to the U.K. yet again for medical attention and remained there till August 19, 2017.
In defence of the private journey, the national chairman of United Peoples Party (UPP), Chief Chekwas Okorie, said although it was not called a medical trip, “the president is entitled to rest.” He said Buhari had been working very closely with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, hence his absence, as at other times, would not affect governance.
Also, Dr. Alfred Mulade, secretary-general of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), said he was “not in any way against the travel of Mr. President, as long as it does not have an adverse effect on governance.”
He said: “We don’t think it will shut down governance. Normally, when a president is travelling, there will be a transfer of responsibility. The man already has his ministers in place that is working. So, if he is travelling for a few days and comes back, I don’t think that will affect governance for now.”
But the president, Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni (MOSOP), Legborsi Pyagbara, held a different view. According to him, “Whether it is medical or any form of travel, it is still Nigerian taxpayers that are bearing the cost. That is the challenge that we have because nobody is telling us whether is he going for medical treatment.”
Pyagbara said: “If he is going on a private visit, it should be during his holiday. Anything outside that, it means it is an official travel, no matter how they try to package it. And the cost is on the Nigerian state. That is why they owe a duty to tell us why the president is travelling.”
Source: Punch Newspaper
