The health condition of the Minister of Tourism, Lola Ade-John, is shrouded in uncertainty.
Some reports had claimed that the minister was hospitalised at the Federal Medical Centre, Jabi, Abuja after experiencing acute poisoning.
The reports said she was rushed to the hospital shortly after she started manifesting symptoms of poisoning, adding that she had spent four days at the facility as of Friday morning.
The report was, however, debunked by a source in the ministry, which claimed that the minister is only attending to malaria and nothing else.
The source, which refused to disclose the hospital where Ade-John is receiving treatment, said the minister was responding to treatment.
It stressed that the minister, who just returned to the country following her appointment by President Bola Tinubu, has been struggling to acclimatise to the Nigerian environment.
Dispelling the fear of acute poison, the source said Ade-John was only receiving treatment for malaria, adding that nobody in Nigeria is immune to the disease.
“The minister only has malaria. She is responding to treatment and she is in stable condition,” the source said.
“Don’t forget that malaria is a common sickness in Nigeria which everyone is prone to. But I can assure you that it is not more than that.
“She is still trying to acclimatise after many years outside the country.”
Some media reports also quoted the Assistant Director Press in the ministry, Emem Mariam Ofiong, as debunking the claim that the minister was poisoned, saying that she only had malaria, was treated and had been stabilised.
“It is not true that the Minister was poisoned. She only had malaria and had been treated and is now stable,” Ofiong was quoted as saying.