The Ministry of Tourism has said that its minister, Ms. Lola Ade-John is recovering from malaria. It denied that the minister was poisoned and rushed to the hospital, as widely reported on Friday.
In a statement, the Assistant Director of Press in the Ministry, Emem Mariam Ofiong said Ade-John had malaria, was treated and had been stabilised.
The spokesperson said: “It is not true that the minister was poisoned, she only had malaria and had been treated and is now stable”.
An online media report, which went viral, stated that the minister had been hospitalised in the nation’s capital, Abuja, over alleged poisoning and was undergoing treatment at the Federal Medical Centre in Jabi, Abuja.
The newspaper further reported: “Lola Ade-John, 60, was rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, Jabi, shortly after she started manifesting symptoms of her poisoning. She has spent four days at the facility as of Friday morning.
“Ade-John, a banker and tech investor, has been on a machine to aid her breathing, adding that the specifics as to what substance she ingested and how could not be immediately ascertained.
“Her worsening situation has further set the family against the government, with the Permanent Secretary of her ministry said to be in disagreement as to whether she should continue receiving treatment at a public hospital or be moved to a better-equipped private facility downtown”.
Representing Lagos State in the 48-member federal cabinet, Ade-John assumed office in August as the first stand-alone Minister of Tourism and pledged to transform the ministry into a global appellation, and make it a major economic earning to the Nigerian economy.
