Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed has said that the fact that President Muhammadu Buhari continues to seek medical care abroad does not imply that the nation’s medical sector has collapsed.
The Minister made this known in Washington DC during his engagements with various international media organisations including BBC Radio and Television, Bloomberg, and Politico.
Mohammed also used the opportunity to highlight the achievements of President Buhari’s administration and efforts made so far, especially in tackling insurgency, banditry, and all form of criminality.
Speaking with newsmen after a separate interview with the three media organisations, the minister said the President had the right to choose his physician and that he is not the first head of state to go abroad for treatment.
“As Minister of Information and Culture today, if I have had a history of using a particular doctor in my life and I have confidence in him, I don’t think the fact that I am now a minister will change that.
“Irrespective of the nationality of that doctor, it is my personal decision to choose the doctor to use
“Like I explained to them, he is not the only president that has gone abroad for treatment.
“If Mr. President has a personal physician for over 30 years, who understands his case and has been managing him, why will it be an issue of contention to seek medical attention from him.
“It will not be right to say that because of what people are going to say, he has to stay in Nigeria to seek treatment,’’ he said.
The minister also made it known that despite the challenges and criticism that the nation’s health sector face, it does not warrant a total vote of no confidence as it was rated fourth by the World Health Organization (WHO) in terms of the national response to COVID-19, a claim that has been refuted by WHO.
He said the country attained the feat, notwithstanding the two-pronged challenges of vaccines nationalism and hesitancy.