The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed has revealed President Muhammadu Buhari cannot stop seeking medical care abroad amidst public criticism for his frequent foreign medical trips.
Buhari's minister said those against his principal's penchant for travelling overseas for medical purposes are making “inconsequential attempts to de-market him.”
He declared that Buhari's medical tourism is not a sign that the nation’s medical sector is bad.
The minister stated this in Washington, D. C., US during his engagements with international media organisations, including the BBC Radio and Television, Bloomberg and Politico.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the minister is in the US to consult with international media organisations and think tanks and share the achievements of Buhari’s administration.
He is also expected to share efforts being made by the government to tackle insurgency, banditry and all forms of criminality.
Speaking with NAN after interviews with the media organisations, the minister said Buhari has the right to choose his physician and “he is not the first head of state going abroad for treatment.”
“As Minister of Information and Culture today, if I have had a history of using a particular a 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 Head of State that had 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 criticised people attacking Buhari for seeking medical attention abroad, insisting that it is an inconsequential attempt to de-market him.
He said in spite of challenges, the nation’s health sector is not in jeopardy as to warrant a vote of no confidence in the sector.