‘Buhari doesn’t have to be in the office to show he’s working,’ Minister says

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April 28, 2017 11:37 AM

Mohammed also said that the president’s absence from Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting is not synonymous with non-performance.

Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed.

Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed has said that President Muhammadu Buhari does not have to be in his office to show that he’s working.

Mohammed also said that the president’s absence from Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting is not synonymous with non-performance.

The minister made the comments during an interview with Channels Television in Ilorin after Buhari’s absence raised fresh concerns about his health.

“I think the President has been quite transparent. The President has told you that he was ill a few months ago, he has come back and he is taking his time. It is not correct for you to say that you don’t see him at public functions – That’s not correct,” Mohammed said.

“The fact that a President or a minister does not come to office, does not mean he is not working. I’m here today for instance, those who have come to my office would not see me.

“Mr President receives ambassadors, he does all he ought’s to do but the fact that he didn’t come for the Federal Executive Council meeting does not mean he is ill and anyway, there is no compulsion for him to preside over every FEC meeting,” he added.

Buhari had earlier been absent from the FEC meeting of April 12 leading Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo to preside over the gathering.

In explanation of Buhari’s absence on April 12, Mohammed said that the president had decided to attend to other matters because the agenda was light.

Mohammed also said, on April 26, that the president would work from home because he needed to rest.

Buhari's absence from the April 12 meeting was the first since his March 10 return to Nigeria from a 49-day medical vacation in London.

Buhari had said, on arrival in Nigeria, that he did not remember being so sick in all his life.

He also said that he would soon need follow-up treatment for the undisclosed ailment.

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Meanwhile, Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose says that Buhari has become a Friday only president in reference to the president's publicized visits to the mosque for Juma'ah prayers.

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