Buhari returns from private visit to London

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has returned from his private visit to London.

The president left the country on April 25 on a private visit to London in the  United Kingdom.

The presidential jet touched down at the presidential wing of Nnamdi Azikiwe International airport, Abuja around 6:00 pm.

The jet left the Standsted Airport in London around 12:20pm.

Buhari has been criticised for embarking on his private visit without transmitting power to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

Nigeria’s major opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said that “President Muhammadu Buhari’s private voyage out of the country without transmitting power, as required by the constitution, is an act of dereliction, which confirms that the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Buhari Presidency are not interested in governance but seeks to vacate our constitutional order and foist an authoritarian system on our country.”

However, the Special Assistant to the president on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, while speaking on a television programme, said the president can work from anywhere and discharge his duties from any part of the world.

According to him, Buhari would only be accused of not transmitting power if he stayed beyond the shore of the country for more than 21 days without doing so.

Shehu said: “The president can exercise authority from wherever he is as he is currently doing. This is a relatively short absence. If you check Section 145 (1) and (2) of the Constitution, you will see that the law is only infringed upon when such absence extends to 21 days.”

There have been speculations over the reason for the president’s trip with reports claiming Buhari’s health might have forced the trip.

However, insiders in Aso Rock say the president’s private visit might have been due to the politics of the next cabinet, rather than the instance of a health trouble.