Buhari still recovering, taking things slowly on doctor’s advice –Presidency

The Presidency has explained that President Muhammadu has not been up and about due to advice by his doctors that he must take things slowly to allow for full recovery from the illness that kept him in London for 49 days.

The Presidency therefore asked Nigerians to understand that “full recovery is sometimes a slow process, requiring periods of rest and relaxation.

This was contained in a statement the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on media and publicity, Garba Shehu, released on Thursday, adding that despite the insinuations of a number of “media organisations, there is no need for apprehension over the health of our President, Muhammadu Buhari.”

He further explained that President Buhari’s absence at the Federal Executive Council meeting of Wednesday, April 26, was a last minute decision, “otherwise, the cabinet and the public might have been alerted in advance”.

The statement read, “As eager as he is to be up and about, the President’s doctors have advised on his taking things slowly, as he fully recovers from the long period of treatment in the United Kingdom some weeks ago.

“President Buhari himself, on his return to the country, made Nigerians aware of the state of his health while he was in London. Full recovery is sometimes a slow process, requiring periods of rest and relaxation, as the Minister for Information, Lai Mohammed, intimated in his press briefing after the FEC meeting on Wednesday.

“Despite his lack of visibility, Nigerians should rest assured that President Buhari has not abdicated his role as Commander-in-Chief of Nigeria. He receives daily briefings on the activities of government, and confers regularly with his Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo. His private residence, in which he has been spending the majority of his time recently, also has a fully equipped office.

“God is the giver of life and health. We are grateful that He has seen our President through the worst period of his convalescence in London. We are thankful that the President has passed a number of benchmarks already. We pray that God continues to see him through this period of recuperation.”

There have been concerns over Buhari’s state of health. A popular columnist and convener of Every Nigerian Do Something (ENDS), Dr Perry Brimah, recently raised the alarm over the president’s health status and described him as “no more than skin and bone” and “dying.”

Alleging that Buhari is “chronically ill” Brimah noted he needed urgent rest and best of therapy.

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