Information Minister, Professor Dora Akunyili
has dropped another bombshell saying she is
fed up with the “lies” told by some
presidential aides about the health of
President Umaru Yar ’Adua.
She also says the president’s return on
Wednesday has “actually exaggerated
uncertainty, confusion, anxiety, fear and
concern, not just by Nigerians but by the
international community ”.
However, four American doctors are due in
Nigeria this weekend to attend to the ailing
President.
They are expected to collaborate with some
Nigerian doctors to reappraise the
President ’s health status.
Professor Akunyili whose February 5th
memo to the Executive Council of the
Federation, EXCOF, forced a change in the
official position on the President ’s health, told
Sunday Vanguard and two other newspapers
in Abuja, ( See Full Interview on cover
section ) that the confusion trailing the
return of the President from Saudi Arabia
could not be blamed on him because “he is
peace loving” and the rule of law he
preaches” is from his heart”.
Prof. Akunyili
“I believe that it is people around him that
are gaining from the confusion; people
around him that are doing to him today what
100 million political enemies cannot do to
him ”, she said, adding: “He has done a lot for
this country and suddenly, a few people are
rubbishing it. They stole him into this
country in the night ”.
Expressing personal frustration at her
inaccessibility to information on the
President ’s health status, she said: “You
manage information if you have
information. We did not have information
that our President was travelling to Saudi
Arabia until we read it in the news, and when
he was in Saudi Arabia we hardly got
information.
“We never had a comprehensive channel of
getting information that we are sure of and
most of the information sometimes, they
don ’t add up and it gets very disturbing.
When they don’t add up, you feel very
awkward reporting such information.
Although she admitted that her February 5th
memo was a turning point in what she called
“ the politics of Yar’Adua’s illness”, and
goaded some people into action at various
levels, one of her children in the USA, who
read it on the internet called on phone and
asked “What is wrong with Mummy? Is she
on drugs?”
* American doctors coming for Yar’Adua
The invitation of the four man team is to the
knowledge of Acting President Goodluck
Jonathan.
The Americans are to work in collaboration
with some Nigerians medical experts, with a
view to reviewing the Yar ’Adua’s health
status.
Their findings will determine to a large
extent the next line of action of Acting
President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan this week.
Former President Obasanjo and some past
leaders are said to be involved in or have
ideas about the move to bring in the medical
experts.
Unofficially, Acting President Jonathan is also
working with the assistance of some
Western countries with a view to laying to
rest the present matter of constitutional
stasis.
The statement of the American government
to the effect that the return of Yar ’Adua to
Nigeria should not be used by his associates
to create unnecessary instability in the
country is a testament to that country ’s role
towards a better resolution of the present
power game.
Agbakoba on medical report
Lagos lawyer, Mr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), in an
interview on Friday, raised some questions
which he said were “very critical.
“Why is it that is Olusegun Adeniyi, the Senior
Special Assistant to Yar’Adua on media
matters that is telling Nigerians that Jonathan
remains the Acting President? What that
means is that he is quoting his boss,
Yar ’Adua.
“The next thing is that we were told that he
has a copy of Yar’Adua’s medical report. It
would be good for the National Assembly to
demand of him a copy of that report which
he has so that Nigerians would know the
true situation of things with their President.
“What is going on is very interesting and the
return of Yar’Adua as we are told, should not
create any form of further confusion but
that is what is happening now.
“There can be no two presidents of Nigeria
at any given time; there can be no two
national anthems for Nigeria at any time, one
for the President and the other for the Acting
President. No
“As it is, the transmission of letter from the
President is a transmission of the presidential
powers to Jonathan, simple and straight
forward ”.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/02/28/im-fed-up-with-lies-about-yaradua-dora-akunyilis-latest-bombshell/