President Muhammadu Buhari has promised to pay the medical bills of a visually challenged NYSC member identified as Okenala Ahmed.
The promise by the President was made known in a statement relayed to reporters yesterday by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.
According to information gathered by Corpers Forum, the corps member who is aged 28 is currently observing the compulsory one-year NYSC service Daura, a community located in Katsina where the President hails from.
Speaking on the president’s promise to take up the medical bills of the corp members, Shehu disclosed that Ahmed was among those who visited the President in his home in order to celebrate Eid el Kabir.
Another corps member identified as Jibrin Ishak, who is the Corps Liaison Officer took it upon himself to beg the president for assistance on the treatment of the blind corps member.
According to the statement relayed by Shehu, “President Muhammadu Buhari has pledged to assist a visually-impaired National Youth Service Corps member, currently deployed to Daura, Katsina State.”
“28-year old Okenala Ahmed, a graduate of Insurance from the Federal Polytechnic Offa, Kwara State, was among the Corps members who paid Sallah homage to President Buhari Tuesday in Daura, as part of activities to mark the Eid-El-Kabir celebrations.”
“In the course of the President’s interaction with the Corps members, the Corps Liaison Officer, Jibrin Ishak, had appealed for assistance for their physically challenged member.
“According to the CLO, the indigent Corps member, who is from Offa, Kwara State, had earlier contemplated redeployment from Katsina State due to his health condition.”
“President Buhari will undertake the cost of medical care and treatment of Ahmed, who is an Economics NYSC teacher at Government Day Senior Secondary School, Daura.”
However, several criticisms have trailed the president’s decision, as he has been accused of politicising the situation.
A major critic of the decision is the former Vice President of the country, Atiku Abubakar, who via his twitter handle condemned the promise by the president.
According to Atiku who is one of the numerous presidential aspirants in the 2019 election, the timing of the decision is not right.
He alleged that President Buhari’s decision to foot the medical bill is one of his petty ways of trying to seek the sympathy of Nigerians in order to gain their vote in the forthcoming election.
Atiku also accused the president of not paying attention to the country’s health sector hence one of the reasons he (Buhari) run abroad to treat himself anytime he faces any medical challenge.
I pray for every hand that will share this news that you will never experience blindness of any kind. Thanks for sharing
See the Tweet by Atiku below:
