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Why I Won't Go Abroad For Medical Checkup Unlike Some People— Wike

His comment came at a time when President Muhammadu Buhari left the country for London for a medical checkup, shortly before the country's doctors are billed to go in strike over poor remuneration and welfare.

The governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, says he does not need to travel abroad for a medical checkup because everything he needs is already available at the Government House Clinic built by his administration.

Wike made this known when a delegation of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House, Port Harcourt on Wednesday.

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In a statement signed by his Special Assistant on Media, Kelvin Ebiri, the governor urged the council to resist playing politics with the approved quota for medical and dental schools in Nigeria, particularly the Rivers State University College of Medical Sciences.

Wike was quoted as saying, “The health care system in Nigeria requires very serious attention. It is unfortunate where we are. I don’t want to comment on people who are travelling for a medical check. I have not travelled for the past two years.

“If we have all these things here why do we have to travel. We have all it takes to provide it. Why will I go out to do my check (overseas) when I have all the facilities in Government House?

“I don’t need it. Everything that is required for me to undergo any test is here. The resources we have. Why can’t we provide it for our people?”

The governor further said his government would sign a contract for the construction of a cancer and cardiovascular diseases centre. 

His comment came at a time when President Muhammadu Buhari left the country for London for a medical checkup, shortly before the country's doctors are billed to go in strike over poor remuneration and welfare. 

Buhari had departed the country on Tuesday for the United Kingdom in what the Presidency described as “routine medical leave.”

According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, the President is expected back in the country in the second week of April 2021.