Leaders of various human rights bodies in Nigeria on Monday evening called on President Muhammadu Buhari to take a medical leave to enable him attend to his health, immediately.
The rights activists include Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Femi Falana; the Executive Director, SERAP, Adetokunbo Mumuni; Director, Centre for Democracy and Development, Professor Jibrin Ibrahim; Executive Chairman, CACOL, Debo Adeniran; and Country Director, Search for Common Ground, Chom Bagu.
They made the call in a joint statement issued on Monday, amid growing concerns about the President’s health.
“As we join the Nigerian people of goodwill to pray for a speedy recovery of President Buhari, we are compelled to advise him to heed the advice of his personal physicians by taking a rest to attend to his health without any further delay,” they wrote.
Those who signed the statement include the Executive Director, SERAP, Adetokunbo Mumuni; Director, Centre for Democracy and Development, Professor Jibrin Ibrahim; and Country Director, Search for Common Ground, Chom Bagu, as well as Executive Chairman, CACOL, Debo Adeniran;
They explained that their call was based on the observation that since the President returned from his medical vacation in the UK and despite repeated claims by government officials that there was no cause for alarm over his health, the President doesn’t seem to have fully recovered.
Recalling that President Buhari, upon his return, had said he had never been so sick in his life and that he might go back for further treatment, they suggested that comments by the likes of Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai could not be ignored.
The statement read in part, “A few weeks ago, the Governor of Kaduna State, Mr. Nasir El-Rufai urged Nigerians to give President Buhari time to recover from his sickness.
“The plea was made after the Governor had visited and presumably assessed the state of the President at the presidential villa in Abuja.
“However, due to the apparent deterioration in the President’s health condition, he has neither been seen in public in the last one week nor attended the last two meetings of the Federal Executive Council.
“His absence at the last Jumat service in the villa has fuelled further speculations and rumours on President Buhari’s medical condition.”
They added, “But instead of embarking on regular briefing on the actual state of the health of President Buhari, officials of the federal government have continued to assure the Nigerian people that there is no need for apprehension over the matter.” (Channelstv)