The Director General, Voice of Nigeria, Osita Okechukwu, who represented Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) at a healthcare event has debunked comments on medical tourism allegedly attributed to the Vice President by a media report on Thursday, August 24.)

The said media report erroneously claimed that Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), at an event recently, had decried the enormous amount of money Nigerians spend on medical tourism in other countries, and that medical tourism was draining Nigeria’s reserves. The event was a national health dialogue organised by the Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism, PTCIJ, and other organisations.

Many Nigerians  have criticized the Presidency on account of this, accusing it of hypocrisy as President Muhammadu Buhari was said to have drained the nation’s foreign exchange for his protracted medical trip abroad. But the VON has set the record straight in a statement thus:

My attention has been drawn to the media reports attributing my remarks yesterday at the Premium Times Healthcare Seminar to our dear Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, GCON.

While I stood in for the Vice President at the said event, I also did express my own views at the said seminar, including those regarding the Medical Tourism and the attendant concerns and challenges.

These views as stated during the event are not to be attributed to Prof. Osinbajo.  For  the avoidance of doubt, I spoke in the context that President Muhammadu Buhari’s health plan will drastically minimize Nigerians expenditure on medical tourism.

I cited for instance the loans meant for the establishment of health system projects and standard medical facilities in the $29.9 billion soft loan basket pending at the National Assembly.

Mr Osita Okechukwu

DG.VON