Buhari’s health status not known to APC, says party’s spokesman

The state of health of ailing Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari is not known to senior members of his All Progressives Congress, the party’s spokesman said on Sunday.

Bolaji Abdullahi said he was unaware if Buhari’s health had deteriorated to the point he had to be placed on life support as alleged last week by Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose or if he was in constant communication with any of his aides or associates.

“All I know is that the president wrote to the National Assembly, ‘I will be going on medical leave’ and he has not come back. That is all I know,” Abdullahi told Channels TV’s Seun Okinbaloye. The party did not know anything either, he said.

Buhari 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.

However, while questioning Fayose’s comment, Abdullahi insisted that APC’s national chairman John Odigie-Oyegun was better placed to provide credible information on President Buhari’s health.

“We are glad to inform you that Buhari is recovering in a very robust manner,” Oyegun told newsmen at the end of a meeting between the National Working Committee and APC governors on Thursday in Abuja.

“We hope he takes it easy and when he comes back, I have no doubt at all that we will have a new and active period of activities.”

But like the APC spokesman, the party’s national chairman did not know when the president would return.