Nigeria’s Buhari flies to UK to see doctor

LAGOS- President Muhammadu Buhari flew out of Nigeria on Tuesday, a source at the capital’s airport said, less than a day after he announced he was heading to Britain for medical reasons.

He Tweeted late on Monday, “I will be travelling to the United Kingdom tomorrow, to see my doctor, at his request.” The move resurfaced fresh doubts about his health less than a year before presidential polls.

Buhari last visit to the doctor he spent more than five months in London, in 2017 receiving treatment for an undisclosed illness.

He has not given reason for this latest trip, but said he planned to be back in the capital Abuja on Saturday.

The 75-year-old former army general had stopped over in London to visit his doctor last week after meeting US President Donald Trump in Washington.

At the time, his spokesman Garba Shehu said health matters were not the reason for breaking the journey back from the United States.

But on Monday, Shehu said in a statement that Buhari did in fact visit his doctor then.

Shehu said, “In the course of the technical stop-over for aircraft maintenance in London on his way back from Washington last week, the president had a meeting with his doctor.”

Buhari’s government has been frequently criticised for failing to update the public on his condition, as they’ve insisted the president was “hale and hearty” during the course of his illness.

Buhari’s return to Nigeria after spending nearly 6 month’s in London last year, he said he “had never been so sick” and had undergone blood transfusions.

Buhari seeking re-election has defied calls from many political quarters to step aside for a younger and dynamic candidate.

Photo Credit- Reuters