Mamman Daura, a nephew of the President Muhammadu Buhari was on Wednesday flown abroad for urgent medical treatment. Daura, known to be one of the pow
Mamman Daura, a nephew of the President Muhammadu Buhari was on Wednesday flown abroad for urgent medical treatment. Daura, known to be one of the powerful men behind the Buhari Presidency, was flown to the United Kingdom.
Daura, 79, was said to have been flown in a private jet to the UK on Wednesday after exhibiting respiratory difficulties with symptoms similar to coronavirus since last Friday. Daura made the trip at a time the ban imposed on international flights as one of the ways of curtailing further spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria has not been lifted.
The President’s wife, Aisha Buhari, had also defied the ban and reportedly flown to the United Arab Emirates for treatment. Efforts to get presidential spokesmen to talk on Daura’s trip on Wednesday evening did not yield any result.
A source in the Presidency, who pleaded anonymity, however, said since Daura was not a government official, it would be wrong to expect any reaction from the government.
“Is he (Daura) a government official? Is that how the Presidency has been speaking officially on the movement of private citizens? I think it will be unfair to expect the Presidency to speak on this,” the source said.
However, presidency would later say that Daura is hale and hearty, adding that the renowned industrialist was in sound health. A top presidency source who confided in LEADERSHIP that the elder statesman only traveled to London for a long scheduled business trip.
The source who did not want his name in print because he is not authorized to speak on the matter noted that Daura is in good health, and will return after finishing the business engagement that necessitated his trip to the United Kingdom. The source who said he had earlier spoke to him maintained vehemently that “there is no iota of truth in the story”, even as he urged Nigerians to “disregard it.
