Buhari to return to Nigeria soon, Osinbajo says

Nigeria’s ailing president Muhammadu Buhari is due back in the country soon, the country’s acting president said on Wednesday.

Yemi Osinbajo, saddled with the responsibility of leading the country in the absence of 74-year old president, paid a quick visit to him in London late on Tuesday and returned to Abuja early on Wednesday.

“We should expect him back very shortly because he is recuperating very fast and very, very well,” Osinbajo said.

He said he had a long, fruitful conversation with Buhari who he said was in high spirit.

“So we had a very good time, we had a good conversation on wide-ranging issues, he is in a very good spirit he is recuperating very quickly and he is doing very well.

“He is in a very high spirit; he is recuperating very quickly and we had a very long conversation. We spoke for well over an hour and his humour is there and he is doing well.

The president has spent most of this year in London receiving treatment for an unspecified medical condition. He left for London for a medical check-up on May 7, leaving Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to lead the country. His aides said only his doctors can determine when he can return to the country.

“The length of the President’s stay in London will be determined by the doctors. The government will continue to function normally under the able leadership of the Vice President,” presidential spokesman Femi Adesina said in a statement.

Adesina, however, insisted that there was “no cause for worry.”

Buhari had left earlier Nigeria on January 19 for London to “undergo routine medical check-ups” during a short holiday. He only returned on March 10 after an extended period of medical treatment.

Though he hinted at the possibility of him going back for more treatment and acknowledged that he was terribly sick, he did not disclose the true nature of his ailment.

His office released an audio message during the Eid-el-Fitr celebrations purported to be from him. The message delivered wholly in Hausa angered more than a few Nigerians who accused him of being sectional with the choice of language he conveyed his message in.

Last month, Ekiti state Governor Ayodele Fayose advised Buhari to resign but his supporters rejected the suggestion.