Medical trip: Buhari returns to Nigeria instead of London

There was confusion, on Friday, when one of President Muhammadu Buhari’s aides said his principal had returned to Abuja.

There was confusion, on Friday, when one of President Muhammadu Buhari’s aides said his principal had returned to Abuja.

Bashir Ahmad, a personal aide of Buhari, set tongues wagging when he tweeted that the president, who attended a summit in Kenya, was back in the country.

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Buhari was expected to procced to the United Kingdom for a two-week medical check up after the Kenya event.

Femi Adesina, Buhari’s spokesman, had announced the medical trip in a statement issued earlier in the week.

“From Kenya, President Buhari will proceed to London for routine medical checks that will last for a maximum of two weeks,” Adesina had said.

But on Friday afternoon, Ahmad tweeted that Buhari was in Abuja.

“President Muhammadu Buhari has returned to Abuja, after his participation in the 50th Anniversary of the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi, Kenya,” he wrote on Twitter.

President Muhammadu Buhari has returned to Abuja, after his participation in the 50th Anniversary of the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi, Kenya.

— Bashir Ahmad (@BashirAhmaad) March 4, 2022

Some Twitter users had expressed shock, demanding explanations over the development.

Daily Trust gathered that Buhari returned to the country around 1pm on Friday.

As of the time of filing this report, no official statement had been issued on the change in the president’s itinerary, fueling speculations that the checkup might have been put on hold indefinitely.

This is not the first time that Buhari’s medical trip would be cancelled abruptly.

In June, Buhari’s medical trip to UK was canceled hours before the president was due to travel.

Although no reason was given for the development, Adesina announced it in a statement.

“The medical follow-up visit of President Muhammadu Buhari to United Kingdom earlier scheduled for today, Friday, June 25, 2021. A new date will be announced in due course,” Adesina had said.