Adesina: Buhari performed well till he left … God will take care of him

Femi Adesina, special adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on media and publicity, has dismissed the reports that the president is ill, saying the nation’s number one citizen performed effectively till he left the country.

Adesina said if the president had worked for a full year, getting a rest of 15 days, including five days in February, is not too much.

He asked Nigerians to wish Buhari well, saying God will take care of the president.

“The buzz going round town is that the president is ill, but ill will be a misnomer; it should not be the right word to use,” he told journalists at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International airport shortly after the president departed.

“The president is going for 10 day rest and during that period, he will see specialists who will look at his ear; he has been treating that ear locally for some time.

“Nigerian physicians have looked at it and now they have said, `you are going to UK, now that you will be there let specialists look at the ear.’

“They (Nigerian physicians) have treated it locally. So, it is not a question of whether the president is ill.

“If he is ill, it presupposes that there are certain things that he cannot do. Till the very last minute that he is traveling, the president performed the duties and functions of his office as president.

“So, illness is not the issue, but as a human being, yes he can rest. He has been president for one full year, you know that in February he took 5days leave; he is taking another 10 days now that means 15 days leave in one year.

“You and I take more than that, so it is natural that the president as a human being is taking 10 days rest but he is not ill.

“We need to underscore that. Rather than going into frenzy, I will urge Nigerians to show goodwill and patriotism; they should pray for him and wish him well.

“Things about health, life and death are in the hands of God, but I believe that all is well. God will take care of him and take care of the county.”

Earlier, Buhari said he had informed the national assembly of his 10-vacation as required by law.

He dismissed insinuation that his trip abroad might cause tension in the country, saying: “is there anybody that doesn’t fall sick?’’