Shortly after his return on Saturday from a medical vacation in London, President Muhammadu Buhari resumed duty and held a brisk meeting with service chiefs. He also met with Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, alongside the service chiefs.
The closed-door meeting was held at the president’s official residence inside Aso Rock Presidential Villa
Journalists and other government officials were not allowed access to the President’s residence while the meeting lasted.
The throng of supporters who found their way into Aso Rock to welcome the President was also denied access to the venue of the meeting.
However, a reliable Aso Rock source said the meeting was “just the usual routine briefing on the security situation in the country especially update on the fight against insurgency”.
Meanwhile the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu, has said that President Buhari’s return has nothing to do with the pockets of protests that preceded it.
Mr Shehu said in a telephone interview during a special programme on Channels Television on Saturday that the President returned after he was cleared by his doctors.
He said, “Let me tell you, that so-called vigil was of no consequence. Did anybody take notice of it? No, this is a country of 170 million people.”
“So if you have a splinter of less than a dozen persons, just less than 10 people over there? No please don’t link this to President Muhammadu Buhari’s return.”
Shehu said a team of presidential aide had visited President Buhari in London and they saw that he was good enough to return home.
He reiterated that the series of protests had nothing to do with the President’s return, noting that the doctors gave the green light after they confirmed that he could return to his country.
“We were there; we gave you the report that for us he looks good enough to continue in his work; however, it was up to the doctors, and we had hoped that the doctors would also see the things as we saw them which is to say that he’s ‘good enough, go back to your job’ and this had been done. So absolutely has nothing to do with this inconsequential protest,” he said.
“We had hoped that the doctors would also see the things as we saw them which is to say that ‘good enough, go back to your job’ and this had been done. So it absolutely has nothing to do with this inconsequential protest,” he said.
The President’s Jet, Eagle One, left the United Kingdom at 10:27 a.m. and touched down at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport at about 4:38 p.m. on Saturday.
President Buhari was received at the airport by the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, members of the Federal Executive Council and the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno.
Others are the Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari; governors of Imo and Bauchi states – Rochas Okorocha and Mohammed Abubakar, as well as the presidential aides among others.
President Buhari was away from the country for 103 days on medical vacation in London.
The special adviser on media and publicity to the president, Mr Femi Adeshina, said President Buhari would address Nigerians on Monday, August 21.
