BUHARI WILL TAKE DOCTOR’S ADVICE AND REST – FG

President Muhammadu Buhari failed again on Wednesday to show up for the Federal Ex­ecutive Council (FEC) meet­ing at the Presidential Villa – the fourth time in a row.

The Federal Government said that he is resting because he is not fit to work at the mo­ment.

The Minister of Informa­tion and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who spoke on Bu­hari’s absence at the FEC meet­ing on Wednesday, said that Buhari was resting at home be­cause his doctors advised him to do so.

He said: “And if the doc­tors say you should take a rest I think you’ll recover faster when you rest, rather than by forcing yourself to work when you are not fit to work.”

Vice President Yemi Osinba­jo, who arrived in the Council Chamber of the Aso Rock Villa at 11am, started presiding over the meeting without calling for a recitation of the National An­them.

He requested opening prayers from the Minister of the Federal Capital Territo­ry, Mohammed Bello and the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, before journalists were asked to leave – and the meeting com­menced.

Buhari has been off the pub­lic radar for several days, a situ­ation which has raised anxiety among Nigerians who think his ill-health has rendered him in­capable of performing his offi­cial functions.

Last week, Osinbajo had to chair the meeting at the last min­ute with presidential aides say­ing that Buhari was resting on the advice of his doctors.

The week before that, the meeting did not hold at all, and the Presidency blamed the East­er break for the inability of the FEC Secretariat to circulate rel­evant memos to cabinet mem­bers.

Even the Wednesday before the Easter break, the President did not chair the cabinet session as officials told journalists that he was busy with other undisclosed state functions.

For the past two Fridays, Bu­hari has also failed to appear at the Villa Mosque for the Juma’at prayers as he usually did, thus heightening the apprehension in the polity over his health status.

Buhari has considerably scaled down his official functions since his return from a 50-day medical vacation in London.

Presidency aides insist that al­though he is resting on the advice of his doctors, he has been work­ing from an office in his residence, which is why he has not been seen publicly for a while.

Last Wednesday, Moham­med, announced that the Presi­dent had asked for official files to be brought to him at the residence as he continued his rest.

Today, the minister repeated the excuse that Buhari skipped the FEC meeting because his doctors asked him not to force himself to work, although he stated that the President was in the office the pre­vious day, Tuesday.

Briefing State House corre­spondents after the meeting, Mo­hammed said: “You are aware that the President was at his office yes­terday and he worked.”

“A few days before now, we came out to say he’s been asked to take some rest by his doctors, and he chose today to rest and not to attend the Federal Execu­tive Council meeting.”

“We want to take this op­portunity to thank Nigerians who have expressed a lot of con­cern and sympathy, and who have been praying for him. Like we’ve always said, the President will stick to his doctor’s advice so that he can recover much more quickly”.

Responding to a reporter’s question, Mohammed dismissed reports that the President’s health had so degenerated that he was be­ing fed intravenously.

Mohammed thanked prom­inent Nigerians who have asked Buhari to step aside and take an­other medical vacation.

His words: “We thank all of them for their concern. I think it shows how concerned Nigerians are about the health of the Presi­dent and all their suggestions are being taken on board.”

“The answer to your first question is absolute bunkum. It is absolutely untrue that he is be­ing fed. He was in the office yes­terday as you all reported.”

“And if the doctors say you should take a rest, I think you’ll recover faster when you rest, rather than by forcing yourself to work when you are not fit to work.”

“All he is doing is following the doctor’s advice. The Presi­dent himself told the nation he has never been this sick and he is going to take it easy. He said it from day one when he came back from the United Kingdom”.

“So, whatever is happening to­day is not any strange development. It is exactly what he said, that he has been advised to take it easy by his doctors and that he will soon go back for further treatment.”

“I don’t think anything is out of place from what he said. He has been quite transparent and upfront in the matter concerning his health.”

Mohammed added that the President’s health status would not adversely affect the activities being lined up to celebrate the administration’s two years in of­fice on May 29, declaring that the achievements recorded so far were worth beating the drums for.

Three former Heads of State, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Gener­al Ibrahim Babangida and Gener­al Abdulsalami Abubakar met on Monday in Minna, Niger State – where they reportedly discussed various issues of national con­cern, including the health chal­lenges of President Buhari. The former heads of state said they would speak out on the issue, and the way forward, at the ap­propriate time.

Meanwhile, the Osinbajo-led panel investigating corruption allegations against the suspend­ed Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Ba­bachir Lawal, and the Director-General of the National Intelli­gence Agency (NIA), Ayo Oke, is scheduled to submit its report to President Buhari on Monday.

The Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Feder­ation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, and the National Security Ad­viser (NSA), Babagana Mongu­no, are the other members of the committee which had 14 days to conclude its assignment.

A brief statement from Os­inbajo’s Office on Wednesday announced that the committee was completing its assignment today and would present its re­port to the President on Mon­day, May 8, 2017.

Lawal is being investigated for alleged breach of due pro­cess and enabling grass cutting contract awards of the Presiden­tial Initiative on the North East (PINE) to his companies while Oke was quizzed on the $43mil­lion cache of funds discovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in a posh private residence in Ikoyi, Lagos.

Oke had claimed that the money belonged to the NIA.