President cuts London trip short, returns to Nigeria

President Muhammadu Buhari has left London and is headed back to Nigeria, cutting his medical trip short by a day.

The president left Nigeria on Tuesday, May 8, 2018 to meet with his doctor and was scheduled to return to the country on Saturday, May 12.

However, according to the United Kingdom chapter of the ruling All Progressives' Congress (APC), President Buhari left the London Stansted Airport in his official aircraft around 12:30pm headed for Nigeria

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Buhari's London trip

In a statement signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, on Monday, May 7, the president's doctor requested his presence when he recently had a "technical stopover" in London.

The president had stopped there on his way back to Nigeria while flying from a working visit to the United States.

He 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.

"The Doctor requested the President to return for a meeting which he agreed to do."

In 2017, President Buhari spent a combined 154 days in London on two separate medical visits to treat an undisclosed illness, prompting concerns about how fit he is for duty.

Since the 75-year-old president declared to run for a second term in the 2019 presidential election, his health status is expected to be a major vulnerability for the opposition to exploit.