After causing quite a scare at the Presidential Villa, losing his composure, stopping his speech midstream as he weaved backwards and excusing himself, reportedly slumping; the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Commission, EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa is hale and hearty, says the spokesman for the Commission, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren.
“This clarification became necessary following an incident today September 16, 2021 at the Presidential Villa, Abuja where he was giving a goodwill message to the National Identity Day celebration, felt unwell and had to return to his seat.
“He has since received medical attention and is due back at his desk,” Uwujaren added.
Bawa, was rushed out of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, for medical attention after he reportedly slumped while giving his goodwill message at the National Identity Day celebration.
He was speaking about a suspect the commission arrested in Ibadan, Oyo state, with 116 SIM cards when he winced in pain as he briefly placed his left hand on the left side of his face. He immediately excused himself. “I have to stop here,” he said, as he wobbled slowly from the podium back to his seat.
Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Pantami, and other senior officials at the event met him halfway and assisted him back.
He was subsequently rushed out of Aso Vila to an unindentified hospital for care.
While no mention was made of any ailment, Bawa has been on the road and in the air for local and foreign engagements.
Meanwhile, Patanmi said one of the key objectives of pillar 6 (Soft Infrastructure) of National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) is support for the accelerated implementation of a Digital Identity Programme,” he said.
He noted that the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa rightly noted that Digital Identity and the digital economy were not only linked, but reinforcing as digital ID was the basis for digital economy platforms.
He explained that digital identification can be an important catalyst for various development initiatives in the continent such as impacting on trade, governance, social protection, financial inclusion, domestic resource mobilisation, as well as security and human rights.
As the world and Nigeria mark the International Identity Day and National Identity Day, accordingly, Pantami urged Nigerians to support the development the digital economy by embracing the use of digital identities.
He encouraged Nigerians to visit NIMC accredited centres for their digital identities.
That minister said that his ministry is committed to ensuring that Nigeria derives the benefits of a functional digital ID system and calls on all stakeholders to support the process.
▪︎ Videos, courtesy Sahara TV, BBC Yoruba