“He Is Just Following Doctor’s Order” Information Minister, Lai Mohammed Explains President Muhammadu Buhari’s Abscence At Federal Executive Council Meetings

Lai Mohammed, minister of information, has spoken on the absence of President Muhammadu Buhari at Wednesday’s federal executive council (FEC) meeting.

Since he returned to the country after a 49-day medical vacation in the UK, Buhari has missed the weekly gathering on three separate occasions.

He has also not been seen in key functions, and for the first time in a while, Buhari missed his regular Juma’at prayer at the mosque in the presidential villa, on Friday.

His absence has been fuelling speculations about his health.

But speaking with state house correspondents after the meeting which was presided over by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, Mohammed said there was nothing strange about the current development.

“He was in the office yesterday as you all reported, and if the doctor says ‘Oh take a rest’, I think you will recover faster when you know you ought to rest, rather than by forcing yourself to work when you are not fit to work,” he said.

“So, I think all he is doing is following his doctors’ advice, and I don’t think it’s about, ‘Oh, he won’t come next week’ … Those are just simple guess work. The president told the nation that he has never been this sick, and that he is going to take it easy. He said it from day one when he came back from the UK.

“So, whatever is happening today is not any strange development. It’s exactly what he said, that he has been advised to take things easy, and that he would soon also go back for further treatment.

“So, I don’t think it is anything different from what he said. He has been quite transparent in the matter concerning his health.”

thecable