Governor recovering fast
PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan Monday visited Kogi State Governor, Idris Ichalla Wada, at the Cedar Crest Hospital, Abuja, where he is recuperating from injuries he sustained in an auto crash last Friday.
The President, who arrived at the private hospital in Garki II with a few aides, was received by the Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu, and the hospital's Chief Medical Director (CMD), Dr. Felix Ogedengbe, before he was ushered into the governor's ward. Jonathan was clad in cream traditional attire with a red cap.
Many dignitaries had been visiting the governor since he was admitted in the hospital. Vice President Namadi Sambo and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) were some of the dignitaries that visited the governor at the weekend, while the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Abubakar, was there on Sunday.
Jonathan spent about 15 minutes with the governor before emerging from the private ward where he was on admission. Though he did not speak to the press, his cheerful mien as he greeted the hospital staff and journalists around, beaming with smile, was an obvious show of satisfaction with the pace of recovery of the governor, who broke a thighbone in the accident.
This much was confirmed by the CMD when he told journalists after the visit that the governor was doing well after a surgery and would be discharged from the hospital "in a few days."
According to Ogedengbe, the governor "is already doing step-climbing. He is doing very well at the moment. You know it was a severe injury.
"We have continued to watch out for any other problem that he might have but at this stage, we have not seen any other problem at all. From the medical point of view, he is quite healthy and should be ready to go back home in a couple of days.
"I can only at this stage tell you that he will be ready to go back home in a few days, but I won't be able to tell you specifically which day.
He is not going to be in the hospital for weeks, he does not need to be here for weeks."
Wada's Special Adviser on Media and Strategy, Jacob Edi, also told journalists: "The governor is hale and hearty and of sound mind. He has undergone surgery for the broken bone in his thigh and the surgery was successful.
He has been receiving high profile visitors and apparently to cap it up is the visit of the President."
Edi reiterated that Wada would not be flown abroad for further medical treatment as he was receiving adequate medical attention at the hospital and that the governor has confident in the nation's medical system.
On the reported fear of the governor's security in the hospital, Edi said "from the eyes of men, the hospital could be small and there could be the fear of security, but security belongs to God. We believe that God will protect him."
Last Friday, the governor's convoy was involved in an accident in which his Aide-de-Camp died on the spot. The team was returning to the state capital, Lokoja, from an official assignment when the governor's car had a burst tyre.
