Adesina says he has no idea who is footing Buhari’s medical bill

Femi Adesina (left) shakes President Muhammadu Buhari after his return from his first medical trip to London on March 10, 2017. PHOTO: FACEBOOK/FEMI ADESINA

A media adviser to ailing Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has said he has no idea who is bankrolling the president’s medical treatment in London.

Femi Adesina, however, acknowledged that as a president, Buhari’s medical bill can be footed by Nigeria.

“I do not know who is paying, but as a president, he has a right to be treated by the country,” Adesina, who is Buhari’s special adviser on media and publicity told Channels TV on Monday night.

The Nigerian president left the country on May 7 for London for a second of treatment for an undisclosed ailment, transferring power to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to lead the most populous African country.

He had earlier left Nigeria on January 19 for London to “undergo routine medical check-ups” during a short holiday. He only returned on March 10 after an extended period of medical treatment.

He tacitly acknowledged that he was very ill, telling his cabinet members that “I couldn’t recall being so sick since I was a young man.” He also said he had “blood transfusions, going to the laboratories and so on and so forth”.

But Adesina, who was among the president’s media aides who visited him at the Abuja House in London on Saturday, said he still did not know the true nature of his ailment. The president, he said, offered no explanation either.

He, however, insisted that the 74-year old Nigerian leader “had mended considerably.” He also said his Saturday meeting with the Buhari was the first time he would either see or speak with him since May 7 when he left the country.

The president himself, according to a statement released on Saturday, said his health had improved tremendously and was ready to return to Nigeria. But said he would need clarifications from his doctors.

“I feel I could go home, but the doctors are in charge. I’ve now learnt to obey orders, rather than be obeyed,” President Buhari told his aides on Saturday.