Former chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Tony Anenih, has condemned the masterminds of the media report that the health condition of President Muhammadu Buhari could have worsened, leading to possible death in Germany.
Anenih, reacting to the development on Sunday, in Abuja, described the report as the handiwork of those who only did not wish Buhari well, but also did not mean well for Nigeria.
The elder statesman said those behind the report, in their bid to propagate their mischievous and false report, forgot that the president left Nigeria for London and not Germany on vacation during which period he would undergo routine medical check-up.
According to him, “this attitude of doing false reports about the death of our leaders has become characteristic in the media and it is not good. I was a victim of this in May, last year, when I was reported to have died in a London hospital. Former President Ibrahim Babangida was also a victim of such sinister rumoured death, last year. I wonder what those behind the false and mischievous reports intended to gain from them.
“Fabricating such negative and false reports of death about fellow human beings is wicked and ungodly. It is clearly against Biblical admonition that we should pray for leaders and people in authority.
“At this time of economic recession, rather than wish President Buhari dead, Nigerians should fervently pray for him to enjoy good health to be able to take the country out of the woods.
“The masterminds of these false reports should desist from such despicable act that only portrays them as inhuman. They should fear God, ask for His mercy and forgiveness so that they do not invite the wrath of God upon their heads.”
He advised the media, especially operators of online media platforms, to always verify sensitive reports before they publish, saying that by doing so, they would save their news subjects and themselves unnecessary embarrassment.
Also, Nigerians living in the United Kindom (UK) under the auspices of the UK chapter of Nigerians in Diaspora Monitoring Group (NDMG) have condemned the death rumour of President Buhari, describing it as the handiwork of corrupt and unpatriotic individuals.
The group, in an electronic message to journalists by its co-ordinator, Mr Adekaa Onyilo, said those behind the rumour did not mean well for Nigeria.
He said such rumour revealed the depth to which morals had sunken and the desperation of the beneficiaries of corruption.
He said the group was pleased at the promptness with which the Presidency dispelled the rumour.
According to Onyilo, even as the president continued with his rest for the duration of his leave, the prayers of the millions of Nigerians who were yearning for the disruption of the status quo imposed by corruption would not go unanswered.