Presidency did well by not disclosing the nature of Buhari’s ailment

Presidency did well by not disclosing the nature of Buhari’s ailment – Reuben Abati

Reuben Abati, the former special adviser on media and publicity to former president Goodluck Jonathan, has praised the presidency for the way it has managed the issues around President Muhammadu Buhari without generating needless news and unwarranted panic.

Presidency did well not disclosing nature of Buhari’s sickness – Reuben Abati

He gave the commendation in Lagos while fielding questions from the media on the state of the nation.

Abati said that due to political or national security considerations, it was expedient for Buhari’s team to shroud the nature of his illness in secrecy.

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The former special adviser said that the situation of a sitting president requiring medical attention for a relatively long period was not new, noting that several countries across the world, especially France and United States of America manages the president’s ailment as state secrets.

He commended Buhari for delegating powers to Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo to hold forth for him in order to ensure the wheels of state continued to roll and grind pending his return from his medical vacation.

He however, criticized top government functionaries who travel to London to see Buhari, take photographs with him and post on social media, accusing them of turning the situation into a circus.

Abati said: “What you then find is that presidencies all over the world, particularly in US and France, try to manage the sickness of the president because it is delicate, and you cannot blame his media team for being careful because of either political or national security considerations.

“It is natural for people to be anxious about the health of their president. You cannot question that. But it is also the responsibility of those managing the situation to avoid unnecessary news and cause unnecessary panic.

READ ALSO: Reuben Abati: I want to go to London…to see Buhari

In a related development, Abati said he does not regret his time in the presidency.

He said he has no regrets working with former president Jonathan due to the lessons and quality of exposure he received at the time.

He also said working under the former president was like going to University of Life, stating that most of Jonathan’s critics would have learnt a couple of things with him.