Headline

Speculations over Buhari’s Cancelled London Medical Trip

Published

5 years ago

June 26, 2021

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

Ever since June 2016 when President, Muhammadu Buhari began travelling to the United Kingdom for medical treatments, the follow up has reportedly been frequent, and in most cases up to six times before a year runs out. Back then, the President has to cancel two planned trips to the volatile Niger Delta region and Lagos for the first announced 10-day medical trip to the United Kingdom.

In the short statement released by his media aide, Femi Adesina then, the president supposedly needed to go abroad on the recommendation of his personal physician and an ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist in Abuja.

“The pilgrimage has remained a routine ever since. And on each occasion, Nigerians are never told the nature of their president’s illness, and that has lingered till date,” a doctor, who craves anonymity to The Boss.

At that time, the vice-president of the Commonwealth Medical Association, Dr Osahon Enabulele, sounded that the president’s medical trip was not healthy for the development of Nigeria’s health institutions. Dr Enabulele pointed out that there were more than 250 ENT specialists plus a National Ear Centre, so the president’s trip to treat an ear infection was “a national shame”. Neither the president nor his kitchen listened.

Fast forwarding to the present, the presidential media aide, Femi Adesina, who is saddled with the responsibility of releasing the president’s pronouncements told Nigerians with late Thursday evening statement, that President Muhammadu Buhari would be travelling to the United Kingdom in less than 24 hours. He also mentioned that the proposed trip was for medical follow-up. Many Nigerians reacted to the announcement albeit negatively. The Nigeria Medical Association as well as Resident Doctors threatened another strike and much more. Recall that the President on March 30, 2021, as announced by another media aide, Garba Shehu, visited the UK for medical check up and spent days not less than seven.

But as the development unfolded, a counter statement was released by Adesina, suggesting that Mr President has postponed his earlier scheduled trip at a time when most Nigerians thought he was already airborne or settled in the UK. This sudden decision, which analysts agreed is happening for the first time as regards the president’s health has therefore, raised concerns and speculations among the rank and file of the Nigerian population.

Adesina’s revelation was contained in a short statement issued on Friday, June 25, 2021, where he said that a new date will be announced for the trip.

“The medical follow-up visit of President Muhammadu Buhari to the United Kingdom earlier scheduled for today, Friday, June 25, 2021, has been postponed. A new date will be announced in due course,” the statement read

Many have wondered the rationale behind canceling a matter as important as medical date.

Some stakeholders who spoke to The Boss raised questions bordering on “Was the president’s health no longer very important as Nigerians have been told as the excuse for the frequent foreign medical tourisms or was there no medical appointment in the first place and has there ever been? Or again, is the president suddenly ready to keep to his campaign promise in 2015 to halt all medical tourism towards revamping the near comatose status of the Nigeria health sector. Or is the president coming to terms with the fact that he once warned that the country would not support any government official seeking medical care abroad, particularly when evidence shows that they can be treated in Nigeria?

However, stakeholders have been volunteering reasons behind Buhari’s sudden refusal to travel again as earlier advertised, with some saying that he was ‘afraid’ of the avalanche of protests Diaspora Nigerians have lined up for him. It would be recalled that in the last two foreign trips the president undertook, he was ’embarrassed’ by some Nigerians who crowded his his place of abode calling for his immediate return to the country. The protesters, who brandished placards with inscriptions such as ‘Buhari Go Back Home’, ‘Fix Nigeria’s Health Sector’ among others, made show of the situation back home. And much as the government downplayed the events, it appeared they were thoroughly embarrassed. These happened in London and Paris in just a space of as many weeks.

Speaking via his twitter handle, former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Mr. Reno Omokri, claimed responsibility for the president’s action, saying that Buhari postponed his trip due to threats of placing him under house arrest. He claimed that the fear of another protests aimed at harassing and embarrassing him in London was responsible for the postponement.

He wrote:

“General Buhari did not postpone his London trip for “unknown reasons”, as the papers are claiming. He postponed it because we promised him the Mother of All #HarassBuhariOutofLondon. He knows our capacity. He knows how we put him under house arrest. Come. We are waiting for you!”

Omokri, who had vowed to organise protest to embarrass Buhari in London if he set foot in the UK, was in the forefront of organising protests that had the president remain indoors while on foreign lands; a typical example is the London and Paris protests.

Again, speculations are still rife on whether President Buhari chose receiving a decampee politician over his health. It was reported that on Friday, the proposed date for the medical trip, Buhari received the Senator representing Delta North Senatorial District, Peter Nwaoboshi, who dumped his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after he was suspended, to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

In the brief ceremony, held at the First Lady’s Conference Room, Presidential Villa, Abuja, Senator Nwaoboshi was presented to the President by the Chairman of the APC Caretaker Committee and Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni in company of other members of the APC Caretaker Committee and relevant stakeholders.

The elated president was also quoted as saying after being briefed on how the caretaker committee have managed the affairs of the party in the past one year, that the party has come back to life. Sources say that Nwaoboshi, who hails from the same Senatorial District as the state governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, may have decamped to gain ground as 2023 beckons just in case Okowa deems it fit to contest the senatorial district’s ticket from him.

But the bulk of respondents to The Boss wondered if the mere reception for a decampee, who may likely re-decamp to another party in the future, or listening to the briefing from caretaker members enough reason for the president to cancel his medical trip. It would be recalled that most presidential aides like Shehu Garba have been quick to say that Buhari can govern Nigeria from any part of the world. The question has remained what may have happened on Friday June 25, 2021 to cause the president to jettison his proposed medical trip; something he hardly takes for granted.

The incessant trips of President Buhari to foreign lands for medical tourism is as old as the administration itself. Much as the traveling started immediately the administration took oath of office, the medical tourisms became pronounced from June 2016.

A political analysts, who refused to be named also wondered why a leader, whose major concern during the campaigns was to end medical treatment oversees, could become the chief culprit.

The complains of Nigerians to this effect has hit the rocks so far, and the silence that followed these complaints and public displays of dissatisfaction was deafening.

Buhari was also known to renege on the expected date of return. The trip was expected to last 10 days, but additional days were added, and explained away.

The medical journeys continued in January 2017, when the presidency issued another statement, saying the president was leaving for the UK for another vacation and “routine medical check-ups”. And was the earlier case, the president did not inform Nigerians of the nature of his illness, nor the hospital of treatment, and again, stayed beyond the announced date. It has in fact become a routine.

While the speculations continue to grow, and Nigerians grumble, only Buhari and his kitchen can, as of today, tell the real reasons behind the cancellation.

Headline

Parties’ Deregistration: ADC, Not NDC, is the Target

Published

1 day ago

June 29, 2026

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

As the 2027 presidential election draws closer, intrigues, manipulations and maneuvers have continued to be the order of the day as political parties engage in one gimmick or another to outdo and undo one another.

While some are playing politics of numbers and conviction, others are engaging tendencies that tend to question the status quo and established principles under which genuine democracy is formed. As a matter of fact, fingers have been pointed at the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal government as the brain behind all machinations that have attempted to derail multi-party democracy, and institute a one-party state, which is alien to the Nigerian democratic roots. This is as a result of the constant imbroglio that has consistently engulf almost all the major political parties in the country.

Fresh facts have however, emerged to prove that every act of frustration thrown at the opposition has been indirectly aimed at the main opposition party, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

According to reliable sources, the recent deregistration of parties, especially the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), was actually targeted at the ADC.

Recall that the Federal High Court in Lokoja, Kogi State, on June, 26, set aside its earlier judgement directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the NDC as a political party. A ruling that put a question mark on the eligibility of the party presenting candidates in the forthcoming 2027 elections

The presiding judge, Isah Dashen, held that all relevant parties must be heard before any substantive decision can be made in the matter.

The court upheld the application filed by a certain organization, the Peace Movement Party (PMP), ruling that the party was a necessary party to the suit.

According to the judge, the earlier judgement was constitutionally defective as it was delivered without hearing from all interested parties.

He declared that such an omission rendered the entire process null and void.

Mr Dashen further ruled that the status quo be restored to what it was before the December 10, 2025 judgement, pending the determination of the substantive suit.

He also observed that certain material facts were suppressed in the earlier proceedings, which justified the decision to set aside the judgment.

Consequently, the court ordered that the substantive suit should begin afresh, with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the PMP and the NDC as parties to the case.

According to NAN’s reports, the applicant’s lawyer, Chikezie Ekeocha, told journalists that the PMP approached the court after discovering that NDC’s registration was based on a logo it had previously submitted to INEC before the commencement of the suit.

According to Mr Ekeocha, the court agreed that the applicant’s rights had been affected and consequently vacated the earlier judgement.

“The court has ordered all parties to return to the position they occupied before the judgment of 10 December 2025, and directed the claimants to join all necessary parties to ensure the issues in dispute are effectually and completely determined,” he said.

He explained that the implication of the ruling is that every action taken by INEC in compliance with the now-vacated judgment stands reversed.

“The recognition of the NDC, the issuance of its certificate of registration, its inclusion in INEC’s records, and any appearance on ballot papers arising from that judgement must be withdrawn pending the final determination of the substantive suit,” Mr Ekeocha stated.

He, however, clarified that the substantive case remains before the court and has not been decided.

“The matter has not been concluded. The court merely set aside its previous judgment and directed that the party whose interests were affected be joined so that all sides can be heard before a fresh decision is reached.”

Mr Ekeocha also dismissed suggestions that the court merely ordered parties to maintain the status quo, insisting that the ruling specifically directed a restoration of the position that existed before the 10 December 2025 judgement.

The ruling effectively returns the dispute over the registration of the NDC to the Federal High Court for a fresh hearing, with all relevant parties expected to participate before a new determination is made.

It would also be recalled that a few weeks earlier, the Federal High Court in Abuja, had ordered the deregistration of five political parties including the African Democratic Congress (ADC). The others are Action People’s Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) and Accord Party.

However, on June 16, the Court of Appeal in Abuja halted the enforcement of the judgement, ruling that it violated its earlier ruling staying proceedings before the Federal High Court.

While INEC awaits the release of the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgment to deregister the NDC, the NDC has reacted, rejecting the judgment as travesty of justice.

Lending credence to the notion that the President Tinubu-led administration is basically targeting the establishment of the ADC as a party, and the candidature of its presidential flagbearer, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, who is also the presidential candidate of the ADC, has stated categorically that there are plots to prevent the party from participating in the 2027 general election.

Atiku’s position is stated in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu on Monday, notifying the public that he had received credible information suggesting that political and legal manoeuvres were being deployed against the ADC, stressing that the persecution that has been thrown towards the NDC was a clear distraction as the main target is the ADC.

Atiku alleged that anti-democratic elements within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) were working to ensure that the ADC is excluded from the ballot.

“We are fully aware of their plots. While they seek to sow confusion within the opposition, we know their real target is the ADC because it represents the most credible alternative,” he said.

Atiku called on Nigerians to reject any attempt to determine which opposition parties participate in the election.

“We therefore call on all Nigerians — not just ADC members and supporters — to rise in defense of democracy and reject any attempt by the ruling party to cherry-pick which opposition parties are permitted to participate in the next general election,” he said.

“Our message to the APC and the hooded men plotting in dark chambers is simple: you may conspire, but you will not succeed.

“If the APC is truly confident in its popularity, why is it so terrified of the ADC?”

He said he hoped the information available to him would not materialise but argued that recent political developments made such concerns difficult to dismiss.

“The pattern has become all too familiar. First, institutions that ought to be neutral are drawn into partisan contests,” he said.

“Then, frivolous litigations suddenly gain unusual momentum. Administrative powers are selectively deployed.

“Political pressure is mounted behind closed doors. Before long, democracy itself becomes the casualty.”

Atiku alleged that the ruling party has focused more on weakening the opposition than addressing the country’s economic and security challenges.

“The obsession with silencing the opposition has become so consuming that governance itself has taken a back seat,” he said.

“At a time when Nigerians are battling hunger, inflation, unemployment, insecurity, and collapsing purchasing power, those entrusted with public office appear preoccupied with political survival rather than national survival.”

Nigerians recall that ever since the official rejuvenation of the ADC in June/July of 2025, where the duo of Senator David Mark and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola emerged as the party’s chairman and secretary respectively, the party has not known moments of peaceful coexistence as litigations from corners unknown have sprang up in a bid to destabilize the party and deprive it of the opportunity of featuring on the ballot paper come 2027.

ADC, as a child of circumstance emerged from the rumbles of the litigation-ridden former main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), where two factions have consistently remelained at loggerheads over leadership. While the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, who is working assiduously to ensure the reelection of Bola Tinubu, leads one faction, Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, who became a defacto head, leads the other faction. In all, PDP appeared to have no direction, forcing many of its members to jump ship, thereby birthing the ADC, and to a large extent, the NDC, which is presenting Peter Obi as the presidential candidate, with former Kano governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, as his running mate.

Sources also informed The Boss that the hasty reading and passage of the Electoral Act 2026 by the Godswill Akpabio-led National Assembly, with many great areas left unattended to, were also part of the grand design to deprive the ADC the constitutional rights of presenting candidates for the 2027 elections.

But both the ADC and the NDC has vowed that they would follow every process to ensure that the crackdown on opposition parties by the Tinubu administration comes to an abrupt end.

But beyond the intrigues, Nigerians are gearing up to participate fully in the forthcoming election with cross sections of the population either hailing Tinubu for his policies or knocking him for the untold hardship in the land.

Headline

South Africa Nothing Without Africa – MTN Boss, Mcebisi Jonas

Published

3 days ago

June 27, 2026

Eric

The MTN Group Chairman, Mcebisi Jonas, has condemned the ongoing anti-foreigner sentiment in South Africa, describing it as a symptom of State failure being cynically exploited by politicians with no interest in genuine solutions.

The speech is seen as one of the most substantive interventions by a senior business figure into xenophobic crisis currently plaguing South Africa.

Delivered during the funeral service of Zimbabwean-born activist and public servant, Thokozani Damasane, Jonas’ words have sparked a wave of discussion across South African civil society.

“I was thinking, what is home to Damasane?” he said. “Because I understand, and I understood very early in life, that home is where humanity is. Home is about humanness. It is about the good of humanity and striving for the good of humanity.”

Thokozani Damasane was born and educated in Zimbabwe before relocating to South Africa during the post-apartheid transition period. Jonas described him as arriving “as an outcast” into a country still finding its post-liberation footing – and choosing, nonetheless, to commit himself entirely to its struggles and its people.

“He immersed himself deeply into the struggles, into the pains of South Africans, and he became one of us,” Jonas said.

“In Damasane’s strength, our strength as South Africa and South Africans is reflected. And in his weaknesses, our own weaknesses are reflected.”

Speaking further, Jonas blamed the state for the failure being witnessed, emphasising that if foreigners leave South Africa today, the country’s problems will still persist.

“Foreigners can leave tomorrow – inequality will be with us,” he told the congregation.

“Foreigners will leave tomorrow – unemployment will be with us. Foreigners will leave tomorrow – our police will remain corrupt. Foreigners will leave tomorrow – our politicians will still be concerned with one thing: being elected and re-elected.

“The problem is the failure of the state. The State doesn’t manage immigration. It doesn’t manage its borders. It doesn’t enforce
law enforcement. It doesn’t manage education. What are you expecting?”

Jonas argued that this failure created fertile ground for political manipulation. “When people feel the burn, they become vulnerable to politicians whose sole purpose is to be elected and re-elected. Some of them have no credibility whatsoever. But they lead marches and tell our people that the problem is not us – it is foreigners.”

Jonas recounted a conversation he had witnessed between Damasane and a young man who had challenged the right of foreigners to be in South Africa. Damasane’s response, Jonas said, had stayed with him ever since.

“Damasane said to this guy: Just wait fifteen or twenty years. You will also want to leave your country.”

Jonas told mourners those words now carry a weight Damasane may not have anticipated. “As I stand up today, I look at South Africa. The level of oppression and inequality, the level of exclusion of our people, the level of corruption, the betrayal of the dream of liberation – those words of Damasane ring very loud in my ears.”

South Africa is nothing without Africa

Jonas closed with a call for what he described as a return to “national consciousness” – one rooted in continental solidarity and economic interdependence rather than ethnic exclusion.

“We are a nation embedded in Africa,” he said. “And without Africa, our growth as a country – economically – our fortune is intertwined with the growth of Africa. South Africa is nothing without Africa. And Africa is nothing without South Africa.”

He also reframed the question of legacy and identity for Damasane’s children, who were present. “Sometimes this thing called meritocracy is measured in wealth. No. It is values, it is principles, it is integrity. And your father had all of that.”

“We cannot judge people by their origin,” he told mourners. “We cannot determine the legal status of people by their origin.”

Headline

NDC Rejects Court Ruling on Party’s Registration, Heads to Appeal Court

Published

3 days ago

June 27, 2026

Eric

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), on Friday, vowed to challenge the judgment nullifying its registration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), insisting that it would exercise its constitutional right of appeal.

Reacting to the ruling on Thursday, the party’s spokesman, Osa Director, said the NDC was still awaiting the certified copy of the judgment before making a comprehensive statement on the court’s decision.

He, however, confirmed that the party had resolved to head to the appellate court.

“We are still waiting to obtain a copy of the judgment. After reading the comprehensive judgment, we will make a detailed statement,” he said.

The spokesman added: “For now, what is certain is that we will exercise our right of appeal.”

Insisting that the party would challenge the ruling, he said: “It is our constitutional right to appeal, and we intend to exercise that right.”

When asked specifically whether the NDC would appeal the judgment voiding its registration, the spokesman replied: “Yes, the party will appeal the case.”

The party’s reaction came shortly after a Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja, Kogi State, in a judgement that nullified its registration by INEC, a development that could have significant implications for the NDC’s participation in the country’s political process ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The NDC, however, maintained that it would refrain from making further comments on the substance of the judgment until it had studied the full text of the court’s decision.

The party’s planned appeal is expected to set the stage for a fresh legal battle over its status and continued existence as a registered political party.