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, a statement by Garba Shehu ,
President Buahri ‘s spokesman said.
Shehu stated that the allegations contained in a
report by Nigeriapen Reporters are totally incorrect,
misleading and a fabrication.
He added that 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.
“This is by the Chief of Staff’s choice,” Shehu
said. “He pays for his medicals, his taxi and
accommodation in the U.K in spite of the high
office he occupies, even when there is no rule that
says he cannot be catered for by government,” he
added.
“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.
Apart from senior government
officials, other reputable Nigerians
are issued with such guarantee
letters to hospitals. A guarantor is
not liable unless there is a default,
but this wasn’t the case with Abba
Kyari who paid all his medical bills
by himself as he had done on
previous occasions.
Hospital records are 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,” Shehu’s stated
concluded.
According to Nigeriapen Reporters’ report ;
Our investigators found that the
High Commission, under (Simon)
Ogah , frequently authorized
payments from revenue generated
by the High Commission for
medical treatment of senior political
officials visiting the United
Kingdom. The funds disbursed for
such medical payments come from
revenues the High Commission
generates through fees for
passports, visas and other consular
services. The use of such funds for
medical payments is an anomaly as
medical bills for government
officials are already provided for in
the Presidency budget.
Nigerians resident in the UK are
unaware that they paid Kyari’s
medical bill when the president’s
chief aide was treated at
Wellington Hospital , St. John’s
Wood, London, in December 2016.
This happened at a time the
government blamed its failure to
issue passports to UK-resident
Nigerians on a lack of funds.
