Buhari returns to ‘abandoned’ office — after 11 weeks

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday returned to the office he has stayed away from since he ended his three-month medical vacation in London.

Since August 19 when he resumed, Buhari has been making use of two other offices — the one in his residence at the presidential villa and the other at the presidential banquet hall.

The absence of the president in the office had fuelled speculations about the state of his health.

When the news broke that the president was working from home after such a long period abroad, many concluded that he had not recovered.

Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman, had waded in by saying the office was undergoing renovation because of “devastation by rodents”.

“Following the three-month period of disuse, rodents have caused a lot of damage to the furniture and the air conditioning units,” he had said in a statement.

Shehu’s statement irked some Nigerians who concluded that the president had not fully recovered.

A source had told TheCable that the president was advised to stay away from his main office for spiritual reasons.

“The rats’ story was a decoy,” a security source had told TheCable.

“It is now very clear that any time he returns to the main office, things get worse for him, health-wise. So he has to avoid the office for as long as he can.”

In a story published earlier on Thursday, Premium Times also quoted sources as saying the spiritualists who worked on the president’s condition advised against his use of the office.

“You know the man was actually bewitched. All these rumours about this or that illness are just guess works. No one was sure, not even the doctors,” the newspaper quoted a source as saying.

“The trip to London in May was unscheduled and all the checks done, including in Germany, revealed nothing. We had to resort to prayers.”

But responding, Bashir Ahmad, an aide of the president, said Buhari had returned to the office.

And, President @MBuhari is currently presiding over an Armed Forces Council Meeting in this particular office you’re talking about. https://t.co/1AcvwtyeQ9

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— Bashir Ahmad (@BashirAhmaad) November 9, 2017

Ahmad later shared pictures of Buhari with service chiefs, and wrote: “Today, President Muhammadu Buhari presided over the Armed Forces Council Meeting in his office at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.”

Today, President Muhammadu Buhari presided over the Armed Forces Council Meeting in his office at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. pic.twitter.com/MAMoKvAxeK

— Bashir Ahmad (@BashirAhmaad) November 9, 2017

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The armed forces meeting is the first under the current administration. Former President Goodluck Jonathan presided over the last council meeting which held on July 17, 2014.

On Thursday, Buhari inaugurated the armed forces council and ratified the National Defence Policy 2017 (Revised); Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service Officers 2017.