Buhari’s Ill health: No threat of constitutional crisis ―Presidency

THE Presidency has rejected insinuation that President Muhammadu Buhari’s absence from the country as a result of ill-health was capable of engendering a constitutional crisis in the country.

Senior Special Assistant to the president on media and publicity, Garba Shehu, in a response to a claim made in foreign magazine, advised against comparing Buhari’s situation with that of late  former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.

According to a statement issued by Attah Esa, Deputy Director (Information) State House, Abuja on Monday, the presidential aide dismissed an article by a Nigerian historian,  Max Siollun, entitled “The Gentleman’s Agreement that Could Break Apart Nigeria,” published in the  United States-based Foreign Policy magazine.

It pointed out that the piece speculates that Nigeria faces imminent political and constitutional crisis on account of President Buhari’s absence to attend to his health in London.

Noting that it was “needlessly sensational and exaggerated speculations by conspiracy theorists,” Shehu explained that it was misleading to compare President Buhari’s case to that of the late President Yar’Adua, adding that the circumstances are completely different.

According to him, unlike President Yar’Adua, President Buhari had duly complied with the constitutional requirements by formally notifying the National Assembly of his intention to go for medical treatment and handing over to Prof Yemi Osinbajo as Acting President.

Shehu  added that, “While Yar’Adua was too severely ill to transmit a letter formally to the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, President Buhari is not in such medical state, and therefore, the country is not currently facing any complications on account of his absence.”

The media aide noted that under President Yar’Adua, there was uncertainty about the role of the Vice President because the late President was not in a position to formally transfer power to his deputy, which necessitated the resort to the doctrine of necessity to enable Dr Goodluck Jonathan act in his absence.

He explained that, currently, none of these circumstances prevail in Nigeria on account of President Buhari’s absence for medical treatment.

According to him, having transferred power formally to Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, President Muhammadu Buhari did not leave Nigeria with any power vacuum, adding, therefore, that any suggestions of uncertainty or constitutional crisis are imaginary and exaggerated.

He explained that with the Acting President Professor Osinbajo already running the affairs of the country in the absence of President Buhari, people should stop creating artificial fears of crisis or uncertainty, noting that governance has not ground to a halt because President Buhari has duly complied with the constitution.

The presidential aide appealed to conspiracy theorists not to pollute the polity by needlessly seeking to create an atmosphere of fear, uncertainty and suspicions in the country.

He recalled that Buhari said publicly admitted he was sick and taking treatment and that he never pretended about his health condition with that open admission.