Tobi Soniyi in Abuja
The Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, did not use the funds of the Nigeria High Commission in London to pay his medical bills during his recent visit for emergency medical treatment, the presidency has said.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Garba Shehu, said the allegations contained in a report published by an online news medium, were totally incorrect, misleading and a fabrication.
According to him, the Nigeria High Commission in London did not at any time ever settle the medical bills or any other bills for that matter as Abba Kyari personally took responsibility for paying his own bills.
He said: “This is by the Chief of Staff’s choice. He pays for his medicals, his taxi and accommodation in the United Kingdom in spite of the high office he occupies, even when there is no rule that states he cannot be catered for by government.
“For the records, Kyari was rushed out of Nigeria for an emergency medical treatment on the fateful December 1, 2016. To receive him on arrival, the Wellington Hospital needed to have cash deposited, or in the absence of this, a letter of guarantee.
“In order to meet this condition, the Nigeria High Commission in London wrote the Letter of Guarantee to the hospital for treatment to commence. The role of the High Commission didn’t involve financial commitments on behalf of Kyari.
“The letter of guarantee from the High Commission was meant to meet the routine requirements of the Wellington Hospital since the patient in question (Kyari) didn’t possess the UK National Health Insurance.”
Shehu explained that apart from senior government officials, other reputable Nigerians were issued with such guarantee letters to hospitals.
He explained that a guarantor was not liable unless there was a default, adding:, “But this wasn’t the case with Abba Kyari who paid all his medical bills by himself as he had done on previous occasions.”
The media aide said hospital records were available for verification to show that the Nigeria High Commission in London didn’t spend a penny on Kyari, as its involvement didn’t go beyond the issuance of the letter of guarantee to the Wellington Hospital.
Earlier, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, had offered a similar explanation on the allegation.
He said the Nigerian High Commission in London merely provided a guarantee that Kyari would pay his medical bills while he was receiving treatment at Wellington Hospital, St. John’s Wood, London.
The minister, who was responding to questions from State House Correspondents on allegation that the commission paid the Kyari’s medical bills in London, said the Chief of Staff to the President did not arm-twist the commission to release funds for his medical bills.
An online medium had alleged that Nigeria’s acting High Commissioner, Adah Simon Ogah, frequently authorised payments from revenue generated through fees for passports, visas and other consular services by the High Commission for medical treatment of senior political officials visiting the United Kingdom.
Onyeama told State House correspondents who sought clarification on the allegation that the report was blatant falsehood and defamatory.
He said: “Because a lot of people do not bring libel cases against media houses, they think they can write whatever they like.
“The report was a blatant falsehood, really defamatory. As we all know, in most of these industrialised countries, if you want medical treatment, or hospital room reserved for you, they will require medical insurance of that country.
“If you do not have, they will require a deposit or a guarantee. Our embassies and high commissions around the world are there to assist Nigerians.
“All that happened in the case of the Chief of Staff when he went to the United Kingdom for medical treatment was that before he arrived, the High Commission guaranteed that he will pay his hospital bills and that was all.
“A letter was written to the hospital that this person is a high official and we guarantee that he will settle his bill.
“On that basis, they reserved a hospital room for him and afterwards, he settled his bill. During the time he was in London, he never asked the High Commission to even provide a car for him. He made his arrangements.
“It is extremely unfair that such defamatory article would have come out. It has no iota of truth in it.
“He had never made any contact with the High Commission for the one and a half years he has been in office.”
