The Presidency has alerted Nigerians on the possible return of President
\nMuhammadu Buhari from London any moment from today as he is no longer
\n\u201cenjoying his stay\u2019\u2019 outside the country.<\/p>\n
President Buhari, who proceeded on vacation to UK on Jan. 19 for a routine
\nmedical check had indicated in a letter to the Senate, transmitted another
\nletter to the Senate, on Feb. 5, requesting extension of time to complete
\nthe medical check-up.<\/p>\n
The Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President,
\nMalam Garba Shehu, in an interview with the Channels Television in Abuja
\non Tuesday, said that the president would be returning to Nigeria soonest
\nas he was no longer `comfortable\u2019 with the extended vacation in London.
\nHe said,\u00a0 \u201cAs a matter of fact, we should be getting ready to see the
\npresident in fresh and that will be soon as possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe President (himself) is looking to being home to be with his people.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think he is enjoying any longer with an extended vacation outside
\nthe country.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
On the president\u2019s telephone conversation with President Trump, Shehu
\ndescribed as \u201cundiplomatic\u2019\u2019 the request being made in some quarters for
\nthe release of the audio containing the conversation.<\/p>\n
According to him, releasing an audio containing telephone conversation
\nbetween two presidents is highly unethical and against modern day
\ncivilization.<\/p>\n
He said, \u201cNo, I don\u2019t think so; I don\u2019t think it is permitted in
\ninternational diplomacy. I think if we had recorded Mr Trump in this
\nconversation it would have offended our diplomatic relations.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the Americans themselves would not have recorded this
\nconversation of president to president.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the president\u2019s test results being expected from his doctors, the
\npresidential aide said he had no information on whether the president had
\ncollected the results or not.<\/p>\n
He said, \u201cNo, we have no information on that (test results). If he had
\nreceived them, he would have been on the plane back home.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Shehu, who noted that there was no enough time for the two presidents to
\ndiscuss other continental and international, however, expressed optimism
\nthat the conversation would boost the bilateral relations between Nigeria
\nand the U.S.<\/p>\n
He said, \u201cWell, there wasn\u2019t enough time to talk about everything. I think
\nthe point at what will follow is in the invitation that President Trump
\nhas extended to our president (Buhari) to come over.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is the kind of opportunity that was presented to Nigeria put all the
\nissues on the desk.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs for their immigration policy, I think our president has been clear
\nabout one thing- the choices made by the Americans as to who to lead them
\nin this case, Mr Trump, is entirely their own choice.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have no business interfering with their domestic affairs.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs to the countries that have barred, it has been clearly specified and
\nNigeria did not feature in the list.\u201d<\/p>\n
Buhari had on Monday in London spoke with Trump by telephone at the
\nrequest of the American President.<\/p>\n
According to the president\u2019s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr.
\nFemi Adesina, the conversation was cordial and Buhari congratulated Trump
\non his election as President of the United States and on his cabinet.<\/p>\n
Adesina said the two leaders discussed ways to improve cooperation in the
\nfight against terrorism through provision of necessary equipment.<\/p>\n
According to him, Trump encourages Buhari to keep up the good work he is
\ndoing, and also commends him for the efforts he has made in rescuing 24 of
\nthe Chibok Girls and the strides being taken by the Nigerian military.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrump assured the Nigerian president of the U.S readiness to cut a new
\ndeal in helping Nigeria in terms of military weapons to combat terrorism.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrump also invited Buhari to Washington at a mutually convenient date,\u2019\u2019
\nthe statement concluded.<\/p>\n
The American President has since been putting calls to other world leaders
\nto inform them of his action plans towards the eradication of terrorism in
\nAmerica.<\/p>\n
Nigerians have, however, been reacting to the statement with diverse views.<\/p>\n
(NAN)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Presidency has alerted Nigerians on the possible return of President Muhammadu Buhari from London any moment from today as he is no longer \u201cenjoying his stay\u2019\u2019 outside the country.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":54368,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n