After spending 50 days in London, for undisclosed health-related reasons, President Muhamamdu Buhari, has on Sunday night, informed Nigerians that his resumption to duty would not be dramatic, as he plans to stop attending outdoor Presidential functions, until he fully recuperates.
Buhari, who spoke through his Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media, Garba Shehu, stated this during an interview on Sunday, in Abuja, on Arise Television News Network
“Let me first of all caution that he (Buhari) is not going to start in a dramatic way. He has been away from the country for nearly two months, so he needs to get into the temperature of the place.
“For instance, yesterday he went through the newspapers page by page, and he read everything that interested him.
“So he needs to get back to that place. The thing is that he’s basically human like all of us. He is coming out of an ailment, and like he himself had said, he needs to start gradually.
“Don’t expect the President to be given neck-breaking schedules or punishing schedules like from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., or sometimes to 1 a.m. to 2 a.m.,” Garba submitted.
Asked whether Buhari would be fully in charge once he resumes, the Presidential Aide said: “The responsibility is his; that is the position of the Constitution.
“The moment the letter goes to the National Assembly and he says I am back, he is back.
“This is not a President by his style of leadership, whose hands dictate every detail.
“People make the observation that perhaps Ministers under this government are the most powerful Ministers we have had in this Republic.
“He doesn’t call each month to say that a contract should go to Mr. A, B, or C, or that road should be channeled through this or that.”
Garba further elaborated on the role of the Vice President, adding that: “even before the President’s departure, the Vice President had a full plate”.
“He has again on record, been one of the busiest Vice Presidents in our country; the President has delegated so much to him,” Shehu explained.
On when Buhari would return to London for further medical treatment, Garba said though the actual date remained uncertain, the decision would solely “be determined by him (Buhari) and his own Doctors”.
“But he has given notice that he will need to go back, and that is normal,” he added.
Speaking on the propaganda and half-truths on the President’s illness, Garba said: “You don’t say what you don’t know, that is one.
“Two, matters of medical disclosure are extremely private. In the course of the process, Femi Adesina, got a long note from the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, describing what disclosure would mean in medical science.”
He added, that it was up to the patient to disclose what his ailment is, as even the Doctor cannot disclose it to anyone.
“Let me confirm to you that the President had no knowledge of the ailment, even before he left. He just went for a medical check-up,” Shehu stated.
