Peoples Democratic Party and Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria have lashed out at President Muhammadu Buhari for embarking on a medical trip to London, United Kingdom.
According to them, the President’s routine medical check-ups abroad showed the failure of the nation’s healthcare system under his administration.
In a statement by its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan on Tuesday, PDP lamented that the President could travel abroad for a medical check-up after burying Nigeria’s health sector in failure.
The statement read, “The PDP is disturbed that while Mr. President jets out for medical treatment in well-equipped hospitals abroad, our hospitals and medical personnel are in very sorry situation, while millions of our compatriots suffer, with many dying on a daily basis from conditions that have simple medical solutions.
“It is indeed heartrending that Nigerians are suffering this huge misfortune of having this highly insensitive, incompetent and corrupt leadership of very selfish individuals who do not care about the welfare of other citizens.”
“More saddening is that all the institutions, policies and programmes established by the PDP, which hitherto ensured access to affordable healthcare for Nigerians, have been wrecked by the Buhari administration.”
On its part, HURIWA said it was“shameful and regrettable the decision of President Buhari to continue to travel to London at serious costs to the taxpayers to take care of his personal health needs.”
A jointly signed statement by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, and the National Media Affairs Director, Miss Zainab Yusuf, said the President’s medical trip abroad was not a good way to lead by example.
HURIWA reminded the Presidency that Health Minister, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, on December 7, 2020 in Abuja unveiled Nigeria’s nine-point, medium-term health sector roadmap, which he said was guided by the President’s “Health Sector Next Level Agenda” of 2019.
“But as at today, what this frequent foreign health tourism by President Buhari shows is that he has no definite roadmap for fixing the public healthcare sector…
“This is absolutely intolerable and unacceptable,” HURIWA said.