Garba Shehu Disagrees With Adesina Over Buhari’s Foreign Medical Trips

Garba Shehu, a former media aide to the late President Muhammadu Buhari, has refuted claims made by his former colleague Femi Adesina regarding Buhari’s foreign medical trips.

Shehu said Buhari’s regular medical trips abroad were not a rejection of Nigeria’s healthcare system but a matter of personal preference.

The ex-presidential media aide made this clarification during an appearance on Inside Sources, a Channels Television programme, in response to Adesina’s earlier claim that Nigerian hospitals lack the capacity to treat the then President.

Recall that Adesina had said that Buhari would have died a long time ago if he had relied solely on Nigerian hospitals, citing a lack of expertise in the country.

Countering that view, Shehu said Buhari remained under the care of Nigerian doctors throughout his Presidency.

“I think it is wrong to assume that he fenced himself off from the Nigerian medical system.

“He had a Nigerian doctor  —  a chief personal physician and a State House Clinic, also led by a medical consultant, a distinguished doctor of many years of practice,” Shehu said.

Shehu stressed that the late former President’s medical team was always available to meet his immediate health needs.

While acknowledging Buhari’s consistent trips abroad for treatment, Shehu said this was due to the President’s longstanding medical relationship overseas.

He also highlighted the presence of Nigerian-trained doctors working globally, noting that their competence is recognized worldwide.