By Lawrence Bajah

Copyright tribuneonlineng

…debunks reports of medical trip over heart failure

Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Barr. Nyesom Wike, on Thursday, expressed disappointment over comments made by activist and former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, calling President Bola Tinubu a “criminal” in a post he shared on social media platforms, particularly X, formerly known as Twitter.

He disclosed this at the official flag-off of the construction of Arterial Road N1 from Wuye District to Ring Road 11 in the nation’s capital, Abuja.

It will be recalled that the Federal Government, on Tuesday, filed a five-count charge against Sowore for calling President Bola Tinubu a “criminal”.

Wike said Sowore should be happy that President Tinubu is a president who follows the rule of law, stressing that nobody should be encouraged to make such statements.

The minister said, “This is a country where somebody on social media will say Mr President is a criminal; nothing will happen. You say all kinds of things you want to say, but nothing will happen. No matter how you see people criticise Trump, have you ever seen any American citizen on social media, or in public, say our President is a criminal? Have you heard that?

“But here, anybody can wake up in the morning and abuse the President, and we are happy. You are lucky you have a President who believes in the rule of law. You are lucky. Continue to be lucky. There are those you will meet that you won’t be lucky again.”

The minister also debunked reports making the rounds that he travelled to London on a medical trip for congestive heart failure, insisting that he only decided to take time out to relax, since he had not gone on holiday since his appointment.

It will be recalled that social media was awash with reports claiming that the minister was in London last week for medical attention after being diagnosed with congestive heart failure.

The report further alleged that the minister had declined doctors’ recommendations for a bypass surgery, expressing concerns about being away from his ministerial duties for an extended period, and the possibility of being replaced in his absence.

However, speaking during the flag-off, the minister denied the claims, stating that the reports were politically motivated.

He said: “Each time I travel, I go with files, I travel with C-of-Os, to make sure that work is not being delayed. But this time around, I said, whatever it is, I must travel, and I must travel without any file, so if the whole place will crumble, let it crumble. Because one has to be alive before one can satisfy other people.

“You know this job we are doing, people are waiting for you, the day you drop, they will announce another person. So, you must make sure while you are working, you also take time out and relax, so I said, let me travel.

“Before I knew it, I heard that they said I was sick, and I heard they said I had a heart attack. God will continue to help them to have a heart attack. It is my prayer that I will sign their condolences. It is my prayer, very soon, I will write a letter, we are sorry, we lost him. But take heart, it is God that gives, it’s God that has taken.

“You know, this country we are in, we play politics with everything. How can somebody sit down and write all sorts of things? Where the person saw me, I don’t know. The hospital where he saw me, I do not know. And yet, we are all happy reading it on social media.”

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