President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday led his first Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting for five months after a long stay in London where he received treatment for an undisclosed condition.
The 74-year-old retired general, who flew back to Nigeria on August 19 after more than 100 days in the British capital, has worked from home since returning and skipped last week’s ministerial meeting.
Last week’s cabinet meeting, which was due to be the first since Buhari’s return, was cancelled without explanation leading to media speculation that the president had not fully recovered. Until Wednesday’s meeting, Buhari had not chaired a cabinet meeting since April 5.
Buhari left Nigeria on May 7 for his second round of treatment in Britain so far this year for an unspecified medical condition, having already spent two months in London, returning in March.
Buhari missed three cabinet meetings at the time and transferred power to Osinbajo to allay fears of a leadership vacuum in Africa’s most populous country.
But his prolonged absence caused tensions in the country where calls grew for him either to return or resign.
Since his return this month, the Presidency has been releasing a flurry of photos and statements from the President’s engagements, like meetings with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, heads of the military and economic ministers and the central bank.
