By Charles Adegbite
Rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Femi Falana has described President Muhammadu Buhari’s medical trip to the United Kingdom as normal.
Falana said the president needs to be commended for being honest and doing the right thing before going.
He told Daily Sun that Buhari is entitled to a month annual leave as a president “and he has taken the appropriate action by asking for leave and handing over to the vice president as required by law.
“Unlike a governor, who abandoned his duty post in solidarity with striking workers, without handover to his deputy. If I were the president, I would take a month, because he is entitled to one month leave in a year,” he said.
To buttress his point, Falana added: “It is normal. Even General (Ibrahim) Babangida, as a young man and military president went away for over a month. It is not unusual because he is not a stone. You can appreciate President Buhari for being honest about it.
“Anybody can fall sick but, the most important thing for somebody like him to do is hand over to his deputy so that the nation or state will not suffer, which he has done. That’s all.”
Buhari had, on Monday, travelled to United Kingdom to see an Ear, Nose and Throat specialists in London. His Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina had insisted said the president is not ill to the level at which the disease is being described and that he had been treated locally and has only gone abroad for checks and, also, to rest for 10 days out of the one month annual leave he is entitled.
Immediate past national president of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) and Vice President Commonwealth Medical Association, Osahon Enabulele, had reportedly described it as “a national shame” and said it was an ailment that could be treated in Nigeria.