All My London Houses Were Bought Long Before I Became Governor, Says Peter Obi

The Vice Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) for the 2019 presidential elections, Mr. Peter Obi, has
clarified that he never at any time claimed that he had no house in
London.

According to Obi’s Special Adviser, Mr. Valentine Obienyem, who
made the clarification on Wednesday while reacting to what he
described as false stories being spread online by Obi’s detractors
that he lied about owning houses in London, “During several media
programmes, Mr. Peter Obi said Onitsha was the only place he owned
a personal house in Nigeria.

“In an attempt to discredit him, some people are posting his
London houses as the much-awaited evidence that he lied.

“First, let it be noted that the issue of having a personal
house only in Onitsha is a matter of choice. If his lifestyle
supports love for houses, Obi can afford to have houses in the 36
states of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

“As for his London houses, it might interest the public to note
that he bought his first house in London in 1987. All the houses he
owned in London were purchased before he became governor of Anambra
State and were all duly declared.”

Obienyem advised Nigerians and the international community “to
disregard false stories being fabricated by Obi’s detractors who
are clutching at straws in their vain bid to demonize Obi, whom he
described as a proven performer and lover of the masses who is well
known for his forthrightness and integrity.

Buhari to Invest More on Health, Education in
2019

The Honourable Minister of Health Professor Isaac Adewole has
assured Nigerians that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration
would invest more money on health and education in 2019.

The Minister gave this assurance during a peer review meeting
with Chief Medical Directors (CMDs) and Medical Director (MDs)
across Nigeria.

The meeting, which took place at Federal Medical Center,
Ebute-Meta, was to enable them exchange ideas, share experiences
and appreciate challenges confronting each facility in other to
help the government address such and if necessary capture them in
the 2019 budget. The review was also to give a direct response to
some of the demand by Nigerians on what the present administration
was doing on health related issues and encourage them to make use
of health facilities provided by the government.

The Health Minster said, government would not only invest money
on health but also on education. “We need healthy people to drive
the economy as we also need educated people to drive the economy so
we would not neglect our human resources, so I assure you that for
2019, this government would put more money on health and education
and we would make our people proud”. He added.

Earlier, the Medical Director, Federal Medical Center Ebute-Meta
and the host, Dr. Adedamola Dada, while briefing the Honourable
Minister on the state of the hospital said the hospital had
embarked on renovation of some of the existing infrastructure like
wards, public toilets as well as the oxygen beds and the have been
upgraded to meet global standard. He however appealed to the
Minister to assist the facility in persuading the Nigerian Railway
Corporation to release more land space to the hospital for the
required expansion.

Dr. Dada also informed the minister that since the hospital has
automated its IGR collection, it has witnessed continuous monthly
increase in IGR and has substantially reduced the leakages. The
hospital had also helped improved the capacity of staff through
relevant training programme.

Some participants at the peer review meeting include, Dr. JAF
Momah, Chief Medical Director, National Hospital Abuja; Dr. Joe
Amedu, Director Hospital Services, Federal Ministry of Health
Abuja; Dr. Emeka Onwey, Medical Director, Federal Teaching Hospital
Abakaliki; Dr. Yemi Ogun, Medical Director, Federal Neuro
Psychiatric Hospital Yaba amongst others.