The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu has given an insight into the power challenges happening at the presidency.
Mr. Shehu while speaking as a guest on Sunrise Daily emphasised that the Presiden,t Muhammadu Buhari has transferred powers to the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo.
Sighting an example, he said that an official went to see the President in London to sign a document but the President sent him back to the Acting President, noting that he is presently in charge of the country.
“Once the President has transferred powers, If your the Inspector General of Police and the Acting President says go and do ABC, You are fired if you don’t do it.
“I am aware that a senior official went to President Buhari in the UK and took some documents to him to deal with and the president said no I won’t, the man responsible for the country is in Abuja, so take it to him.
Mr. Shehu referred to such action by the government official as a disrespect to the Acting President.
He added that the President is not someone that wanted power for his own sake but since he has transferred powers to the Acting President, all national matters should be handled by him.
Constitution’s Stand On Buhari’s Health
Mr. Shehu explained that there is no requirement in the Constitution for the President to disclose his health situation.
“The Constitution of the Nigeria, the matters of the law did not make it a requirement for him (the President) to disclose his health situation as it is at the moment”.
He noted that this is not the President’s first medical trip abroad since he assumed power.
“He went in January and returned without prompting anyone, he spoke on television to tell Nigerians what he went through”.
He appealed to Nigerians to be patient and allow the President to fully recover and return back to the country.
“Nigerians should the President a benefit of the doubt, with a little bit of patience, I will not be surprised if he tells Nigerians what he went through”.
He also referred to the statement by a legal practitioner, Ebun Adegboruwa, saying that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has lost the moral right to retain power when the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari expires in 2019, as “reckless”
Mr. Adegboruwa said this during an interview on Tuesday when he appeared on Channels Television’s breakfast show, Sunrise Daily.
He noted that the Federal Government has broken the promises made to the people, although there were improvements in a few areas such as the anti-corruption war.
“The All Progressives Congress (APC) has lost the moral right to retain power, it goes beyond the President’s state of health. Everything you call a bond between a people and a leader has been broken, every promise made to Nigerians has been broken except in a few areas of course like the fight against insurgency and of course the fight against corruption minus the media trial of course, surely we have seen some improvement,” he said.
The lawyer, who asked Nigerians to pray for President Buhari who is receiving medical attention in the United Kingdom, however, stated that not disclosing his health status was discouraging.