President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday returned from a trip to the United Kingdom which his spokespersons claimed was for a medical checkup.
Buhari departed for Abuja on March 30. His office confirmed his return to the nation’s capital on April 15 at about 5:00 p.m. local time.
Although the presidency said Buhari would only be away for two weeks, he overstayed by two days.
The trip had been widely criticised for coinciding with a nationwide strike of health workers. Nigerians in London picketed the president’s residence there, accusing him of being insensitive by leaving behind a host of unresolved crises that beset the country.
The president’s aides pushed back against the criticism, saying it was misplaced as the government was still running and the president had used the same doctors in the UK for over thirty years.
The doctors were not named and the president did not hand over power to Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.
