The Senior Special
Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, says
President Muhammadu Buhari spent less than £50,000 (N20.5m) on the treatment of
an ear infection in the United Kingdom.
Shehu said this in a
Facebook post on Sunday night while responding to an allegation by Prof. Farooq
Kperogi that Buhari spent £6m during his treatment in June.
The President’s spokesman
said Buhari’s government believed in accountability and curbing waste.
Shehu said the Presidency
had approved over £50,000 for the President’s treatment but Buhari rejected it.
He said, “The disclosure on
Prof. Farooq Kperogi’s wall that President Muhammadu Buhari’s ear treatment in
the United Kingdom cost a whopping £6m must have shocked many of the respected
scholar’s followers.
“I’m prepared to share
documents with Farooq, one of the brightest ever produced from the Bayero
University Kano that the whole treatment, including a follow-up visit by a specialist
to Nigeria didn’t cost £50,000.
“For the records, the
administration advanced a higher sum, but the President’s doctor returned the
balance to the treasury.
“Indeed, it’s a New Day,
and President Buhari’s change mantra is real. Let no one confuse my fellow
countrymen and women.”
Shehu made an indirect jibe
at Dame Patience Jonathan – wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan – who
claimed that the $15m found in some company accounts was for her medical
treatment.
He added that President
Buhari would have rejected the bill if the doctor had charged him £6m.
He added, “The story reads
like an incredible tale by moonlight that belongs to a different era, which
fortunately is now history. That’s when a fortunate lady saved $15m for medical
treatment!
“But was it possible that
the account of this balanced journalism teacher was hacked? I will give him the
benefit of the doubt.
“Given the austere
President we have, Muhammadu Buhari would not have approved this amount if he
was shown a £6m bill. I won’t be surprised if the President may have asked if
the fat bill was for the purchase of a brand new pair of ears!”
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