Tinubu cools down apprehensions about Buhari’s health

All Progressives Congress, APC, leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has dismissed apprehensions about the health of President Muhammadu Buhari and warned against mutterings he claims could lead to the derailment of the President’s progressive agenda.

Tinubu in a statement, yesterday, affirmed that the country was in good shape as he charged anxious Nigerians to trust the President, who, he said, they gave the mandate to govern, to also make good decisions concerning his personal health. Tinubu said the President had done the needful by delegating much work to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, adding that the understanding between the two men had stabilised the polity.

Tinubu’s charge came against the background of concerns on the shape of the president and his administration. In one of the latest charges, Second Republic House of Representatives member, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, affirmed that the president was sick and charged him to come out on his health condition and do the needful in the interest of the nation. Noting that there should be no reason for apprehension, Tinubu said: “We voted for President Buhari because we trusted his ability to make decisions regarding complex issues of state.

If we can trust him to handle difficult matters of governance, we can also trust him to make correct decisions regarding his personal health.

“The President Buhari I have come to know is an honest and responsible man and leader. “When he returned to Nigeria on March 10, he disclosed to the nation that he had been sick to the extent that he received blood transfusion and would leave for further treatment at some future date.

He said he would follow the counsel of his doctors and there is every reason to believe that he has been true to their counsel. “Many people have openly speculated about the President’s health. Some have done so for their own selfish reasons. These people shall be found out in time. There are many who have done so out of sincere concern for the President. “These people should not be condemned for their heartfelt concern. However, they should be advised not to allow fear to ambush their better judgment and their courage. They should not give themselves to idle speculation.

“We should not buy into the myth of some cabal at work. Dwelling in empty speculation on the existence of some mythic cabal is not what the country needs at present. From what I can see, the President remains at the helm and his policies are being implemented. “The President is also showing his belief in process and partnership by assigning more responsibilities to the VP, which included presiding over meetings of the Federal Executive Council, thus demonstrating his trust and implicit confidence in him. “Unfounded speculation serves no purpose other than to encourage those who would rather derail the President’s progressive agenda and who would divisively pit one aspect of this nation against another. Such chatter may foment division where there was none and this might come to impair the management of the affairs of this country.

“By fomenting animosity among groups that have before now been allied, those who hold to the bankrupt politics of yesterday seek to thwart the President’s mission while claiming to support him. “Those who truly care about the President and the important work he must still do should not allow themselves to become the unwitting tools of these regressive forces. “We must stand with and beside our President. The unfounded speculation around his health should stop. We must not covet fear and rumour but should engage our creativity and enterprise to help the President accomplish his historic mission.

“Our greatest energies should be focused on righting this economy so that it provides a decent livelihood for all people. This critical path towards economic recovery must be followed for the sake of our children.” Mohammed charges President to do the needful However, in calling on the president to come out on his health condition and do the needful in the interest of the country and his own personal health, Dr. Mohammed, said: “From my vantage position as a medical doctor, I have no doubt in my mind that Buhari is sick, and nobody takes chemotherapy unless he is seriously ill, and the illness may not be terminal but certainly it has a lot of implications, which means he is having some form of cancer, though I have no access to his medical records and would not want to make general statements. “My take is that the President is not well and anybody who is sick in his physical body cannot perform, and that brings us to performance legitimacy, and that is why he is failing in his mandate.

“I believe at some point, Buhari has to do himself some justice by saying enough is enough, I have tried my best, and I believe Nigerian will respect me. It is not how long you serve, it is how well you served.”