From Okwe Obi, Abuja
The Nigerian Youth Union (NYU) has protested against public officials embarking on foreign-private visits with tax-payers’ money.
NYU National President Chinonso Obasi, in a statement on Wednesday, said although the presidents, governors and ministers were prone to fall sick, insisted that they should be treated in the hospitals they built in Nigeria.
Obasi also contended that such foreign trips contribute to capital flight and economic haemorrhage.
He said: “It is disheartening to note that at a time when Nigerians are being hit hard by the rising cost of living; at a time when insecurity is pervasive and Nigerians are being kidnapped in droves, the president embarked on medical tourism cloaked as a private visit.
“No doubt, we wish the president well; but also wish to state that we will mobilise and resist within the ambits of the law, any of such cryptic trips in the future.
“Public officeholders serve the people and are expected to be discerning; empathic and conduct themselves in manners reflective of the pulse of the nation.
“From the aforementioned, it has become imperative to revamp the nation’s health sector and equip it with requisite facilities and qualified personnel to stem the tide of medical tourism among the elite.
“Now, that the president is back to the country, he is expected to, as a matter of urgency, introduce measures to address the current hyper-inflation and strangulating prices of food stuffs which has triggered a wave of protests across the country.
“Worthy of mention here, is that the respected legal luminary, Femi Falana, has flayed the trip saying there is no provision in the constitution for a private visit by the Nigerian president.”
According to him, NYU was unveiled on October 1, 2020, to serve as the voice of Nigerian youths with a vision to offer opportunities that breed inclusiveness in governance; and provide national information that is of interest to the young people in Nigeria and other parts of the world.