Adesina rues Buhari’s eight months sickness, tackles Kukah over presidential fleet claim

The Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Femi Adesina, said on Monday his principal’s eight-month sickness in 2017 was a setback to the current government.

Adesina, who featured in a Channels Television’s programme, Politics Today, faulted a claim by the Catholic Bishop of the Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, on the sale of the presidential fleet.

President Muhammadu Buhari spent the better part of 2017 shuttling between Nigeria and the United Kingdom for treatment of an undisclosed ailment.

There were also rumours that he died in London in late 2017 and was replaced by a certain Jubril from Sudan.

On his part, the Catholic Bishop in his Easter message prayed to God to guide President Buhari in his retirement.

He, however, lamented that the president would leave the country worse than he inherited it.

The cleric said: “As you (President Buhari) prepare to return to Daura or Kaduna, I do not know if you feel fulfilled or that you met the tall dreams and goals you set for yourself such as: ending banditry, defeating corruption, bringing back our girls, belonging to everybody and belonging to nobody, selling off our presidential fleet and traveling with us etc.

READ ALSO: Buhari travels to Saudi Arabia for lesser hajj Tuesday

“You may have followed my engagement with you through these Messages over the years. You publicly referred to me during one of our visits as your number one public critic with a huge smile. I commend you for the fact that you have known that none of this was done out of malice but that we want the best for our country. May God guide you in retirement while we all embark on the challenge of reclaiming the country we knew before you came.”

Adesina, who highlighted the accomplishments and legacy of the Buhari government, insisted that Kukah’s opinions have been shaped by politics.

He said: “About all, eight months. That sickness took eight months of his (Buhari) time in the office. Of course, nobody would like that. But what we are glad about is that he came whole, sound, and better than he went.

“Therefore, it should be a setback because when he fell sick in January 2017, came back in March and went again in April, and didn’t come back till August 19.

“On Fr. Kukah, I will say those things don’t do credit to his intellectual posture. He is somebody that we had always admired for his intellectual bent but his opinions have been coloured by politics.

“He talked about selling the presidential fleet. Was that ever promised? In 2015, there were promises made that even the candidate did not know about.”

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