The Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to end the rumours in circulation over the state of health by making a public appearance or addressing the national from London where he is on a 10-day medical leave.
The NLC argued that it would be proper for the President to make a public appearance to dispel rumours in the country about his health.
The general secretary of the NLC, Peter Ozo-Eson, told Punch on Thursday, January 26, 2017 that the President should speak to Nigerians since Nigerians were worried about his health.
Dr. Ozo-Eson said the president should call the bluff of those peddling orchestrated rumours by publicly addressing the citizenry.
“In the social media, stories circulate without confirmation; I think that the easiest way is to talk publicly to the nation because the citizens are concerned about their leaders’ whereabouts,” the NLC leader said.
‘If there are those who orchestrated rumours and they are not true, the easiest way is for him to reach out to Nigerians through a public appearance and a statement.
“Nigerians have a right to be certain about the health situation of their President and the people who orchestrate rumours and unsubstantiated reports, one would wish for him to call their bluff by publicly addressing the citizens.”
TUC Differs From NLC
But the TUC said it would not be necessary for the President to address Nigerians since he had not been away for long.
The president of the TUC, Mr. Bala Kaigama, stated that Buhari demanded a rest and handed over government to the Vice-President.
According to him, Nigerians can talk about the President’s health if he fails to return after the 10-day period of rest he requested.
He said, “Why do we have to make noise about this? He is coming back; if he were to go and stay for a very long time, it is a different thing. If we have patience, he will come back. We are just being unnecessarily demanding.
“This is somebody who demanded a rest and he has handed over the government to the Vice-President. So our concern is how the VP is handling it; but it his health that has become the issue of the moment.
“But we should allow the old man to have his rest. It is normal for somebody of that age to need rest from time to time. If he goes to rest that does not mean that government will not work now. Let the old man enjoy his rest.
“If he does not come back on the day he is supposed to come, that is when can talk, but for now, let’s allow him to have his rest, why does he have to come and address us? It doesn’t make any sense.”
The Executive Secretary, Anti-corruption Network, Ebenezer Oyetakin, faulted the call for Buhari to address the nation from the UK, describing it as mischief.
He said, “I do not subscribe to that. It smacks of mischief from such people. We are Africans. We have cultural discipline on some issues.
“He has done the appropriate thing by handing over to the VP as Acting President. Let us be patient and maintain a sense of decorum and respect to the institution of governance.’’
Buhari Health Rumours
Rumours about the health status of the president continue to swirl on cyber-space after a fake news website reported that Buhari had passed on.
The Nigerian presidency has debunked the rumour and said that the retired military general, 74, is “alive and well”.
“He is alive and well! President Buhari is not magical. He cannot be holidaying in the UK and be in Germany, dead or alive at the same time,” Garba Shehu, one of Buhari’s spokespersons, said in a short post on his Facebook page.
The president left the country last week on a 10-day leave and is expected back home on February 2, 2017. While making the official announcement, presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina had assured that there is nothing to worry about the president’s routine medical checkup while on his vacation.
The president himself also made it clear that there is nothing wrong with going on vacation, just before stepping into the presidential jet.
The rumours won’t go away. Wednesday morning, news began to circulate online that the present was on life-support at King’s College Hospital. According to the blogger who reported the story, his source is an inside source familiar with the situation.
