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Tag: medical trip

  • Alleged $6bn fraud: Court turns down ex-power minister’s medical trip request

    Alleged $6bn fraud: Court turns down ex-power minister’s medical trip request

    A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court on Wednesday refused to grant an application filed by Dr Olu Agunloye, a former minister of power and steel, seeking to travel abroad for medical treatment.

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting him over certain infractions regarding the $6billion Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station in Taraba .

    Agunloye, who served as a minister in the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, is being prosecuted by EFCC, on behalf of the Federal Government, before Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie.

    He was charged in the suit, marked FCT/HC/CR/617/22, with a seven-count charge bordering on forgery, disobedience of presidential order and corruption.

    He was alleged to have , among others, on May 22, 2003 awarded a contract titled “Construction of 3,960 megawatt Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station on build, operate and transfer basis to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited without any budgetary provision, approval and cash backing.

    The prosecution also alleged that it traced some suspicious payments made by Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited to the former minister’s accounts.

    The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

    Delivering a ruling, Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie, held that the defendant failed to adduce sufficient evidence to show that his ailment could not be treated by a hospital in Nigeria.

    He therefore dismissed his application to travel abroad for medical treatment.

    The judge subsequently, adjourned until Sept 23 for continuation of trial.

    On January 11, Agunloye was arraigned on a seven-count charge bordering on fraudulent award of contract and official corruption.

    The court admitted him to bail in the sum of N50 million.

    The court also seized his passport as one of the bail conditions.

    Agunloye, through his counsel, Adeola Adedipe, SAN, had applied for the release of his passport to enable him travel.

    At the last adjourned date, Adedipe said his client needed urgent medical attention abroad.

    Some of the documents tendered by the defence lawyer included medical reports from University College Hospital, Ibadan and the NISA Premier Hospital, Abuja.

    The defendant also included a letter from the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and an invitation from a foreign medical analyst requesting him to travel abroad for an urgent medical evaluation.

    However, the application was opposed by the EFCC which claimed the former minister was a flight risk, having amply demonstrated unwillingness to present himself for trial until he was declared wanted.

  • Ondo governor, Akeredolu returns from medical vacation, officially resumes duty

    Ondo governor, Akeredolu returns from medical vacation, officially resumes duty

    Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State has returned from his medical vacation.

    Upon his return, Akeredolu notified the state House of Assembly of his resumption of duty after months of medical vacation

    The Speaker of the Assembly, Olamide Oladiji, in a statement confirmed the receipt of the letter during a parliamentary meeting.

    The letter, which was received on Friday, indicated that Akeredolu has resumed immediately.

    Oladiji who expressed gratitude to God for the governor’s safe return, emphasised that his action aligns with Section 190(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

    Akeredolu had arrived in the country on Thursday after concluding a three-month medical leave in Germany.

    Following his arrival, the governor met with his cabinet members, legislators, and various political groups on Friday in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

     

  • President Buhari returns from two-week medical trip to UK

    President Buhari returns from two-week medical trip to UK

    Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari has returned to the country after embarking on a two-week medical trip to the United Kingdom.

    Recall that President Buhari made the trip to London on the 31st of October, 2022 for a medical check up.

    The President had presided over an emergency National Security Council meeting in the State House, Abuja, where he and his security chiefs had reviewed the security advisory issued by the United States Government to her employees in Nigeria.

    He attended the opening ceremony of the conference and retreat organized for Senior police officers in Owerri, Imo State before jetting out.

    While abroad on medical trip, Buhari used the opportunity to visit the King of England, King Charles lll

    Buhari and King Charles  engaged in a heart to heart talk, where King Charles was reported to have jokingly asked Buhari if he had a residential building in the UK.

    President Buhari is expected to join in the All Progressive Congress presidential campaign team to rally support for the party.

  • I don’t have any information on Tinubu’s whereabout – Keyamo

    I don’t have any information on Tinubu’s whereabout – Keyamo

    The Spokesperson of the All Progressives Congress campaign council, Festus Keyamo, has revealed he does not know the whereabouts of their presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

    Keyamo, speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday said Tinubu is not on a medical trip and doesn’t know the particular day he will return.

    He pointed out that nobody made a fuss when the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, travelled to Dubai.

    “Our candidate is not in the country currently and I don’t have any information on where he is. I know he will be back in a couple of days but I don’t know the particular day.

    “He is also not on a medical trip; I don’t have such information. It is not true that we have not started campaigns because the candidate is sick and is not around,” Keyamo said.

    When asked if the recent video was posted on social media to prove a point, Keyamo added that “As far as I am concerned it was done in real-time and posted on his Twitter handle.

    “It is not to prove that he is alive, we are not trying to prove anything to anybody. Our candidate is not struggling to prove himself to anybody. People who are close to him know that he is an avid cyclist, he does that all the time, and it is his regular routine.”

  • JUST IN: Tinubu lands in Lagos after 3-month medical trip to London [Photos]

    JUST IN: Tinubu lands in Lagos after 3-month medical trip to London [Photos]

    All Progressives Congress leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has arrived in Lagos from London after about 102 days of absence, two clear days ahead of speculations.

    Tinubu arrived at the Lagos airport to the warm welcome of Lagos governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu and other APC top guns, such as Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi.

    His arrival had been a top secret as he wanted to avoid a crowded reception at the airport.

    Tinubu on Landing Friday night

    Tinubu on landing in Lagos
    Tinubu left Nigeria in July for a surgery on a nagging right knee injury.

    The surgery was successful and had been undergoing physiotherapy since then.

    He told members of the House of Representatives northern caucuses on 1 October that the physiotherapy has been the more difficult part of his recovery.

    Tinubu and Sanwo-olu on Friday night
    While in the UK, he received a throng of well wishers, with President Buhari leading the train.

    After him followed Lagos Governor Sanwo-Olu and other governors from the South west.

    Speaker of House of Reps, Femi Gbajabiamila, his deputy Wase and other members of the House also visited him.

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    Senators also paid him well-wishing visits. Among them were Senator Kashim Shettima, former governor of Borno and Aliyu Wamakko, former governor of Sokoto.

    Former Zamfara governor Abdulaziz Yari also visited him.

    In a statement after Tinubu’s return, Tunde Rahman, his media adviser issued a statement on the trip and his return.

    “During his trip abroad, he underwent surgery on his right knee as well as rigorous post-surgery physiotherapy on the said knee.

    “Contrary to unfounded rumour, he underwent no other surgical procedures and contemplates none in the future.

    “His recuperation has been without complication and ahead of the schedule by the attending surgeon.

    “He has returned fully healed from the knee surgery and fully committed to doing his modest part of advancing the cause of progressive democratic good governance throughout our beloved nation.”

    “The APC chieftain expressed his appreciation to President Muhammadu Buhari, as well as other political leaders, who visited him while he was in London”.

  • Medical trip: FG silent on President Buhari’s return date from UK

    Medical trip: FG silent on President Buhari’s return date from UK

    The Federal Government has refused to pick a particular day and date of President Muhammadu Buhari’s return from the United Kingdom where he is on a medical vacation.

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that as at today, Wednesday, April 14, the president’s return date remains unknown.

    When State House Correspondents on Wednesday asked the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, to put a date to the expected return of the President the query was sidestepped.

    The Minister just retorted: “Today is Wednesday, this week finishes on Saturday. So, what’s the big issue in that one?”

    According to him, the government was more concerned with insecurity bedeviling the country.

    TNG reports that President Buhari on Tuesday, March 30, 2021, left Abuja for the UK for a routine medical checkup.

    The Presidency explained that he is expected to return to Abuja this week.

    In a statement to announce the planned departure, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, had said Buhari would be back in the country in the second week of April 2021.

    “He is due back in the country during the second week of April 2021,” the statement said.

  • Buhari’s foreign medical check-up violates the law

    Buhari’s foreign medical check-up violates the law

    A labour and civil society coalition group, the Alliance for the Survival of COVID-19 and Beyond (ASCAB), says President Mohammadu Buhari’s constant visits to the United Kingdom for medical check-ups violate Nigeria’s National Health Act, and is a reflection of the parlous state of healthcare in the country.

    In a statement on Wednesday, the chairman of the group, Femi Falana (SAN), said it is contradictory for the president to go abroad for medicare when billions of naira are allocated to the health sector every year, apart from the huge amount of money credited to the Presidential Clinic in Aso Rock.

    “The President of Nigeria visiting the United Kingdom for healthcare 60 years after independence is a shame. It confirms that Nigeria cannot guarantee the health of her president even when the country can boast of a rainbow of experts and teaching hospitals that have been left to rot away,” he said.

    The group said if the country cannot secure the well-being of her president, how can it take care of the health of ordinary people on the streets.

    ASCAB attributed the deaths of two prominent human rights activists, Yinka Odumakin and Innocent Chukwuma, to the parlous state of Nigerian healthcare, saying that the two, like millions of Nigerians in rural and urban areas, would have lived if the country’s leaders had funded and equipped hospitals for prompt diagnosis and treatment.

    It said, “The total neglect of public healthcare in Nigeria has seen millions of people lose their lives from preventable deaths. While many people die in millions every year, armed and defenceless people, rich and poor suffer from the tragic neglect of Nigerian health sector by the Federal and state governments.”

    ASCAB said President Buhari’s action violates the constitution of the country as his medical treatment and check-up in the United Kingdom have not been recommended by a medical board approved by the Minister of Health in line with Section 46 of the National Health Act.

    “The section states ‘Without prejudice to the right of any Nigerian to seek medical check-up, investigation or treatment anywhere within and outside Nigeria, no public officer of the government of the Federation or any part thereof shall be sponsored for medical check-up, investigation or treatment abroad at public expense except in exceptional cases on the recommendation and referral by the medical board and which recommendation or referral shall be duly approved by the Minister or the Commissioner of Health of the state as the case may be’,” the statement read.

    ASCAB also said Buhari leaving the country at a time doctors were declaring national strike shows his disdain for the health sector, knowing that he and his family, like many top government officials depend, on foreign hospitals for the healthcare at public expense.

    The coalition then expressed its full support for the strike embarked upon by National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) and the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), saying that the demands of the medical and judicial workers were driven by patriotism and the need to protect the integrity of the country.

    It lamented that access to justice is increasingly becoming the right of the rich and the privileged, warning that denial of justice and the monopoly of liberty by the rich has the potential of spurring violence across the country.

    ASCAB also cited Section 123 of the Constitution which provides for judicial autonomy. It cited two separate suits filed by the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) and Olisa Agbakoba SAN, where the Federal High Court declared that the judicial arm of the government is entitled to financial independence.

    “As the judgments were ignored, President Buhari issued Executive Order 10 of 2019 to actualize the provisions of the Constitution on financial autonomy for the judiciary. Since both judgments and the Presidential Executive 10 have been ignored, the JUSUN has commenced another industrial action.

    “ASCAB supports the strike and calls on all the governments involved to meet the demands of the JUSUN,” it said.

  • Medical trip: Buhari will resume presidential duties in UK, no need transmitting power to Osinbajo – Presidency

    Medical trip: Buhari will resume presidential duties in UK, no need transmitting power to Osinbajo – Presidency

    The Presidency on Tuesday said it is unnecessary for President Muhammadu Buhari to transmit power to the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo while he (Buhari) is away on a medical trip to the United Kingdom (UK).

    The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, stated this on Tuesday when he featured as a guest on a monitored Channels Television programme.

    He explained that President Buhari has not contravened the laws of the land by not transmitting power to Professor Osinbajo while away from the country for a number of days.

    “He (Buhari) will continue from wherever he is,” Shehu said when asked if the President had transferred duties to the vice president.

    He added, “The requirement of the law is that the President is going to be absent in the country for 21 days and more, then that transmission is warranted. In this particular instance, it is not warranted.”

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that Buhari departed the Presidential Villa for the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja at about 2:30pm on Tuesday after which he proceeded to London for a routine medical check-up.

    The Presidency had said the President was expected back in the country in the second week of April.

    Before he embarked on the trip, President Buhari met with the service chiefs where he directed them to identify the leaders of bandits and kidnappers and take them out to restore confidence in the areas affected.

    He stated that the criminals would no longer dictate the tone, adding that he was aware of plans by individuals who constitute themselves as authorities to undermine the efforts of the central government.

    TNG reports that since assuming office, the President has embarked on several trips to the United Kingdom to seek medical care, but he has not been to the country since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Speaking about his principal’s condition, Shehu stressed that there was no emergency for the President to travel to London.

    He insisted that the President was not sick in any way, adding that it was just a routine medical check-up just as he had done in the past.

  • Medical trip: Buhari should transfer power to Osinbajo – Dino Melaye

    Medical trip: Buhari should transfer power to Osinbajo – Dino Melaye

    Former Senator, Dino Melaye has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to transfer power to his Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo as he travels to London for medical check-up.

    The Presidency said on Monday that Buhari would be travelling to London, United Kingdom for medical check-up and would be back in two weeks time.

    But Dino Melaye, in a tweet said Buhari should transfer power to the Vice President through a letter to the National Assembly.

    He urged that the president should do this before leaving the country on Tuesday.

    He wrote: “The president should transfer power to the Vice President through a letter to the National Assembly before leaving the country in-line with constitutional provision.”

    Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, had in a statement on Monday evening, said Buhari would proceed to London on Tuesday, March 30, 2021 for a routine medical check-up.

    He said Buhari would meet with Security Chiefs first in the morning, after which he would embark on the journey.

    Adesina stated that the president would be back from the medical check-up in the second week of April.

    The statement reads: “President Muhammadu Buhari proceeds to London, the United Kingdom, Tuesday March 30, 2021, for a routine medical check-up.

    “The President meets with Security Chiefs first in the morning, after which he embarks on the journey.

    “He is due back in the country during the second week of April, 2021.”

    The last time Buhari travelled out of the country was in April 2019 for medical check-up in the UK.

    He returned to the country in May of that year.

  • Alleged N2.2bn fraud: Court okays foreign medical trip for Fayose

    Alleged N2.2bn fraud: Court okays foreign medical trip for Fayose

    The Federal High Court in Lagos on Friday authorised a former governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, who is facing an alleged N2.2billion fraud trial, to go on a foreign medical trip.

    Justice C.J. Aneke made the order following an application by Fayose’s lawyer, Ola Olanipekun (SAN).

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, which is prosecuting Fayose through its counsel Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), did not oppose the application.

    The judge adjourned further hearing in the case till January 22, 2021.

    Fayose is on trial alongside a firm, Spotless Investment Ltd.

    The EFCC alleged, among others, that Fayose, on June 17, 2014, “took possession of the sum of N1, 219,000,000 to fund your 2014 gubernatorial campaign in Ekiti State, which you reasonably ought to have known formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act, to wit: criminal breach of trust/stealing.”

    The ex-governor was also alleged to have on the same day “received a cash payment of $5,000,000 from Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, the then Minister of State for Defence, which sum exceeded the amount authorised by law and you thereby committed an offence contrary to sections 1 and 16(d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended) and punishable under Section 16 (2)(b) of the same Act.”

    The EFCC also alleged that Fayose purchased a property known as No.44, Osun Crescent, Maitama, Abuja for N200m in the name of “your elder sister, Mrs Moji Oladeji.”

    But Fayose and Spotless Investment Limited have pleaded not guilty to the charges.