The Presidency says President Muhammadu Buhari has only travelled to the United Kingdom for a routine medical check-up.
Speaking while featuring as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday, Mr Garba Shehu noted that there was no serious condition that prompted the President’s trip.
“It is a medical trip and there is absolutely no urgency, no emergency; the President is not in any sick condition.
“It is a routine medical check-up; the President has undertaken this with a set of doctors that he has retained over many years,” said Shehu who is the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity.
President Buhari departed the Presidential Villa for the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja at about 2:30pm after which he proceeded to London for a routine medical check-up.
Since assuming office, he has embarked on several trips to the United Kingdom to seek medical care, but he has not been to the country since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Presidency said the President, who met with the service chiefs before he travelled, was expected back in the country in the second week of April.
For Shehu, his principal has been in perfect health but decided to go on the medical trip just as he had done in the past.
“He has done this before he came into office in 2015 and he has continued to do that without any disruptions but for last year (2020), he could not make it because of the travel restrictions that the COVID-19 pandemic has imposed on the global community.
“We are hoping that the President will come back in good time and continue all the work that he is doing. The President has enjoyed an extraordinarily good round of health,” he said.
The presidential aide also described President Buhari as a law-abiding citizen, saying he would observe the COVID-19 protocols put in place by the British authorities.
