Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari is set to return to the country tomorrow, Friday, March 10, 2017.
The president is on an indefinite sick leave in the United Kingdom.
According to information on the official presidency’s Twitter handle, @NGRPresident, the president is expected to return after concluding “routine medical check-ups”.
President @MBuhari is expected to return to Nigeria tomorrow, Friday March 10, 2017.
— Presidency Nigeria (@NGRPresident) March 9, 2017
2/ The President left Nigeria on January 19, 2017, for a vacation, during which he had routine medical check-ups.
— Presidency Nigeria (@NGRPresident) March 9, 2017
3/ The holiday was extended based on doctors' recommendations for further tests and rest.
— Presidency Nigeria (@NGRPresident) March 9, 2017
4/ President @MBuhari expresses appreciation to all, across Nigeria and beyond, for their prayers and good wishes.
— Presidency Nigeria (@NGRPresident) March 9, 2017
Buhari at Abuja House in London on Thursday received the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.
The president, in the photographs posted on his Twitter handle @MBuhari, was decked in a yellow prayer gown with a white cap; while his visitor was in a black suit.
“Very pleased to welcome the Most Revd and Rt Hon @JustinWelby, Archbishop of Canterbury, to Abuja House this afternoon,” Buhari wrote.
Very pleased to welcome the Most Revd and Rt Hon @JustinWelby, Archbishop of Canterbury, to Abuja House this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/jsRxeafVxM
— Muhammadu Buhari (@MBuhari) March 9, 2017
President Buhari and Archbishop Welby exchanged handshake in one of the photographs.
Some Nigerians raised concerns as to the health status of the president who looked wizened in the photos.
Buhari Health Rumours
Rumours about the health status of the president continue to swirl on cyber-space after a fake news website reported that Buhari had passed on.
The Nigerian presidency has debunked the rumour and said that the retired military general, 74, is “alive and well”.
“He is alive and well! President Buhari is not magical. He cannot be holidaying in the UK and be in Germany, dead or alive at the same time,” Garba Shehu, one of Buhari’s spokespersons, said in a short post on his Facebook page.
The president left the country last week on a 10-day leave and is expected back home on February 2, 2017. While making the official announcement, presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina had assured that there is nothing to worry about the president’s routine medical checkup while on his vacation.
The president himself also made it clear that there is nothing wrong with going on vacation, just before stepping into the presidential jet.
The rumours won’t go away. Wednesday morning, news began to circulate online that the present was on life-support at King’s College Hospital. According to the blogger who reported the story, his source is an inside source familiar with the situation.
The president was expected to return to the country on February 6, 2017, the same day that the presidency issued a statement saying that he had extended his medical leave indefinitely due to health reasons.
