Reaction trails Buhari's vacation extension

- Dr Junaid Mohammed asked Nigerians to take their destiny into their hands

- He claimed a cabal was in government just like during Yar'Adua's administration

- Governor Fayose urged Nigerians to pray for Buhari

Dr Junaid Mohammed has urged Nigerians to be vigilant in the wake of President Muhammadu Buhari’s letter to the National Assembly requesting a vacation extension.

The President was expected back in the country on Monday, February 6 but had written to the National Assembly that due to some medical tests, he would not be back as scheduled.

Vanguard reports that Mohammed claimed a cabal had started working to hijack the government just like what happened during the administration of late president, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua his wife and some politicians kept Nigerians in the dark.

He said: “The development regarding the President’s health is a very bad indication and it is unfortunate Nigeria has found itself in another quagmire. It is also unfortunate that Buhari and his handlers are trying to cause another constitutional crisis rather than telling Nigerians the truth. This development is similar to that of Yar’Adua when a cabal with the help of his wife held this country to ransom and deceived Nigerians”.

“During Yar’Adua’s administration, 180 million Nigerians were taken for a ride. The same people in the Villa under Buhari have started towing the same path. I believe Nigerians should rise up against this if the Senate cannot impeach the President who now seems to be incapacitated and unable to discharge his duties as President of Nigeria”.

“It is now seen that the cabal do not want an end to this and that is why they keep playing us. These are some of the things we have seen ahead and have been shouting that Nigerians should be told the truth about the President’s health. I pray God saves Nigeria but Nigerians must take their own destiny into their hands.”

In his reaction, Governor Ayo Fayose who has been a staunch critic of the Buhari administration urged Nigerians to pray for the president.

He said: “What else do I say but to ask Nigerians to pray for him?”

Mr. Kayode Ajulo who is a human rights activist noted that there is no law that stipulates the exact time the president can go vacation but said it is the president’s physician that should meet with the National Assembly not the letter sent by Buhari.

He said: “When it comes to the issue of vacation of the President, there is no law that stipulates that the President has a specific period within which to go on a vacation. But in a situation that there is a lacuna to that effect, what is only open is that the President too is a public officer and it is the same rules that govern every other public officer that should govern him.

“As at today in Nigeria, the number of working days any public officer can go on vacation is a month except there are arrears of unspent ones. So it is expected that if he has gone on 10 days I believe he still has more days to complete that.

“Then secondly, with this extension it has shown clearly that our President is sick. It is expected that we should be looking at the section of the constitution that talks about incapacity of the President to know if actually there is a need to get the personal physician of the President to look at the well being of the President.

“I think instead of this letter, it is the personal physician that should meet the National Assembly to assure them of position of the health of the President. That is what the constitution envisaged because when it comes to the issue of health it is a serious issue and the constitution has made a provision for it.

“Now the physician we don’t know. He is in a foreign land. The question again is how can somebody who is sick write a letter? We don’t need to be deceived. We wish the President well, we wish him to come back to this country, we love him but I speak as a lawyer. The personal physician of the president needs to meet National Assembly members.”