.Warns against discussing Buhari’s sickness
By Oguwike Nwachuku
Executive Editor
Former governor of Enugu State, Sullivan Chime, has lampooned those who have made the health of President Muhammadu Buhari a subject of discussion, saying it is unnecessary.
He has also kicked against the calls for the restructuring of Nigeria, insisting that it is misplaced.
Chime said so long as Buhari transmitted power to his deputy, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo who is now the Acting President, Nigerians do not need to worry about whether the President is in the office now or not.
The two-term former governor who recently defected to the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) was speaking on Tuesday night in an interview with the African Independent Television (AIT) which was monitored in Lagos.
“We shouldn’t discuss the President’s sickness. Until he is back from medical vacation the acting President is there to do the work. So the noise about his sickness and whether he is in the office or not is uncalled for. The constitution is clear on what to do and Buhari did just what is expected. It is just that Nigerians like drama, and we are not helping ourselves by wasting our precious time discussing non issues.”
He used his own medical vacation to explain that when he went for medical treatment for cancer related ailment he transmitted power to his deputy by writing the Enugu State House of Assembly, after which he informed the then President Goodluck Jonathan before he proceeded.
Chime also spoke about his recent sojourn in the APC saying that his movement got a lot of people excited.
He noted that he did not just defect to the ruling party, but that his former party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has become irredeemable based on what is happening to it today.
He explained: “A lot of people are excited about my movement to the APC. I left the PDP because the party died. The party collapsed. The party is dead, and I want to stop there.”
Chime also spoke about the recent calls for the restructuring of the country, saying there is no need for that. “There is no need for restructuring; there is no need for that. The question advocates of restructuring should be asking themselves is :are we still interested in being one Nigeria? If the answer is yes, then the constitution of the country has provided all the answers to the questions agitating our minds, and we should be responsible enough to apply the provisions of the constitution,” he said.
He decried for instance, the issue of state of origin as it is being promoted as one of the things that ought to give way in our day to day activities as a country, noting that if that is done there would be great turn around in the country.
On the N450 million he collected for 2015 election for Enugu State, Chime said the money was spent for the purpose it was given and that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had been told in clear terms what the money was meant for- election. “And in Enugu we delivered 100 per cent,” he said, adding that he did not defect to the APC to evade prosecution as was being touted.