At a time many Nigerians were looking forward to the return of President Muhammadu Buhari from his vacation abroad, the President has again extended his stay. The news extending the vacation was conveyed today via a press statement by Femi Adesina, his spokesman, where he revealed that the President isn’t fully fit yet to return to his duty post.
President Muhammadu Buhari
“During his normal annual checkup, tests showed he needed a longer period of rest, necessitating the President staying longer than originally planned,” the statement said.
Buhari had travelled to London on January 19 for a 10-day vacation but no sooner had he landed there than the social media went abuzz with news that his health had deteriorated, and that he may even have died. The claim was however dismissed by the Presidency as the handiwork of some busy bodies. The president’s aides promised that he would return to the country at the expiration of his ten-day vacation, which was to elapse on February 5, but Buhari sent another letter to the national assembly asking for an extension of his stay in the United Kingdom, on the advice of his doctors. The letter however didn’t state when he would return to Nigeria. That further stoked the rumour mill, as some people felt the stories of his failing health may not be unfounded after all. But President Buhari’s aides and members of his party, All Progressives Congress, APC have since then sought to deflect questioning views. A number of top party men like Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State, Senate President Bukola Saraki and Bola Tinubu, former governor of Lagos State have travelled to London where they took pictures with President Buhari, which were shared in the media as proof that the 74-year old man is alive and well. But the latest statement by Aso Rock and further comments by Adesina Tuesday, no doubt arouses more curiosity about the President’s real condition.
Cornered by journalists to shed more light on Buhari’s health and return date, based on his press statement Adesina replied: “I speak for somebody, I do not speak for myself. So it is what he tells me to say that I say and the statement transmitted to me is that the President needs to rest for some further time.” He, however, conveyed his master’s appreciation to all those who had been praying for his quick recovery.
“The President wants Nigerians to know that he appreciates their prayers. He appreciates their concerns and their goodwill. He has added that there is really no cause to worry. He is the one who owns the body and there is nobody who will know his body more than him and he says no cause to worry. It makes sense to say that maybe from the results of the tests, further rest had been recommended.”
WhatsApp us