Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has knocked President Muhammadu Buhari over his decision to personally fund the medical treatment of a visually-impaired member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, on Wednesday disclosed that Buhari made the decision to assist 28-year-old Okenala Ahmed, who is currently serving in Daura, the President’s hometown in Katsina State.
Ahmed and other corps members paid President Muhammadu Buhari a visit as part of this year’s Eid-el-Kabir celebrations.
While praising the President for his decision to help Ahmed, Atiku said he would not have had to if he had spent the bills he used for medical trips abroad to improve Nigeria’s healthcare.
In a message posted on Twitter on Thursday, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential aspirant also questioned why the gesture was coming five months to the 2019 general elections.
I commend @NGRPresident @MBuhari for paying medical bills of a blind corps member 5 months to the 2019 election, but I remind him that if he had invested the public funds he spends on his London medicals on public healthcare, he wouldn’t need to do this.https://t.co/eKmy0KoERm
— Atiku Abubakar (@atiku) August 23, 2018
Atiku had on Wednesday criticised Buhari for publicising his 800 metres walk after the Eid-el-Kabir prayer on Tuesday.
The President walked from the prayer ground to his private residence in Daura to the admiration of his followers.
Shehu, in a statement, said the walk proved Buhari was fit to be elected for another term of four years.
Dismissing the claim, Atiku posted a picture of himself exercising on a treadmill, adding that he regularly jogs for more than one mile.
