The federal government
says it will not disclose the amount spent in treating President Muhammadu
Buhari in London.
Buhari returned to the country on March 10 after spending 49 days
in the United Kingdom.
Speaking with top government officials shortly
after his return, the president confessed that he had never been that sick in his entire life.
“I have received I think the best of treatment I could receive. I
couldn’t recall being so sick since I was a young man, including the military
with its ups and downs. I found out that technology is going so fast… Blood
transfusion, going to the laboratories, and so on and so forth,” he had
revealed.
Human right groups and some individuals have been mounting
pressure on the government to disclose the president’s medical bill in the UK.
But speaking with state house correspondents on Wednesday, Lai
Mohammed, minister of information and culture, said disclosing the medical cost
of Buhari was against national security.
He said he was not aware of anywhere in the world where the
president was forced to divulge his medical bills.
Mohammed acknowledged the role of the freedom of information (FOI)
Act, but said it excluded issues bothering on national security.
“This matter (the president’s medical bill) has come several times
and our position is quite straight forward,” he said.
“What are the president’s conditions of service? What are his
entitlements in terms of his well being and health care? The state is supposed
to take responsibility for these.
“We believe that asking for how much has been spent on the health
of the president is an issue that we should weigh very well, both for national
security and also for moral issues. I don’t know why we must divulge such very
sensitive information.
“I might be wrong but I don’t know of anywhere else where the
president will be ill and be forced to disclose how much the state spent on his
health.
“Yes, there is freedom of information act, but it is also carved
in such a way that when such information is likely to endanger national
security, that area is covered.”
-TheCable
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