- She was rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, Jabi, shortly after she started displaying symptoms of her poisoning
- The minister is on the throes of death as family members work relentlessly revive her
Nigerian tourism minister, Lola Ade-John, has reportedly been poisoned in Abuja by some unknown persons.
She was rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, Jabi, shortly after she started displaying symptoms of her poisoning
The minister is on the throes of death as family members work relentlessly to revive her, according to Peoples Gazette.
60-year-old Ade-John has spent four days at the medical centre as of Friday morning, a family source privy to the development told the media outlet.
She has been hooked to a life support machine to aid her breathing. The report is not explicit as to what the exact poisonous substance the minister inhaled.
Her worsening situation has further pitted her family against the government, with the permanent secretary of her ministry said to be opposed to moving the minister away from public hospital to a better-equipped private facility downtown.
The permanent secretary, Ngozi Onwudike, was said to have insisted that the minister should not be transferred because the FMC is a public hospital and its services wouldn’t attract substantial charges to the government, a position her family rebuffed. But they remained with her as they could not raise funds to move her to a private hospital, our sources said. A phone number for the permanent secretary did not connect on Friday morning.
A spokesperson for the FMC did not immediately return a request seeking comments from The Gazette about Ms Ade-John’s condition.
Ade-John was appointed as a minister by President Bola Tinubu in August. She is touted as one of the few cabinet members appointed from outside the political circle. She was based in London for years before she was asked to return to the country to serve by the president