Group vows to drag President to court over non-disclosure of medical bills

chika ebuzor

April 2, 2017 12:06 PM

Lai Mohammed had earlier said that Buhari’s medical bills cannot be disclosed because of national security.

President Muhammadu Buhari

The Foundation for Human Rights and Anti-Corruption Crusade (FHRACC) has vowed to take President Buhari to court for the non-disclosure of his medical bills.

There has been a lingering issue surrounding the disclosure of the President’s health status and how much he spent while he was in London.

According to the minister of information and culture, Lai Mohammed, Buhari’s medical bills cannot be disclosed because it falls under national security matters.

Mohammed gave the response reportedly following Punch Newspapers, request for the presidency to release the figures, which is in-line with the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.

According to Vanguard, the National President of FHRACC, Alaowei C. Ebikonbowei Esq. said “President Mohammadu Buhari as a public figure is answerable to the people who foot his bills, The President is being funded by the taxpayers’ money and thus he is under obligation, both in law and under all known conventional practices, to be accountable to the people who gave him their mandates.

“It is safe to demand that Buhari should declare his health status to Nigerians together with the money he has spent to treat himself in the United Kingdom. Refusal of the government to disclose the money spent on the President’s health is the greatest disservice to Nigerians. “We are baffled with gross consternation over Alhaji Lai Mohammed’s sermon that the money spent on Buhari’s health will not be disclosed for security reasons. We believe that there is no security threat for Buhari to declare his health status known to Nigerians and or furnish us with the money he has spent on his health.

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“Concealing such vital information from the prying public is to say the least corruption itself. If security should be an excuse from disclosing public money the government has spent on public servants, then the law can also preclude public office holders from declaring their assets as required by the Code of Conduct Bureau Act.”

President Muhammadu Buhari came back to Nigeria after spending 49 days in London.

chika ebuzor