Buhari won’t resign –Presidency

The presidency has reacted to calls in some quarters calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to resign from office, due to his health issues.

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said the president would not resign from office based on such calls.

The president has been away from public view ever since his return from a 50-day medical trip in London, and has not stepped outside the Presidential Villa, Abuja since then.

He has also missed out on three consecutive Federal Executive Council (FEC) meetings, and failed to attend Ju’maat prayer on Friday, fueling more speculations that his health may have deteriorated further.

But Adesina told journalist at an event in Lagos on Saturday that the calls for Buhari to resign over ill health, were merely the opinion of some people, and not that of the millions of Nigerians who voted Buhari in as president.

Adesina explained that since the mandate of the voters was more important than the opinions of a few people, there was no possibility of Buhari resigning based on the calls.

He said, “Well, it is an opinion, but don’t forget that about 15 million people elected the president so if one or two people expressed their opinion, will their opinions override that of 15 million people who voted for him? So those who are expressing their opinions have rights to their opinions.”

He said he was confident that God would fully restore the president’s health, adding that he was still carrying out his duties as president, even as he called on Nigerians to pray for the good health of the president.

He continued, “Yesterday there was still a press briefing saying there is no need for apprehension. God spared the president. In the first place, he said he had never been as sick as he was before, the same God that spared him will also ensure that he returns to full health. Nigerians prayed, God answered. Nigerians are still praying, God will still answer. That is all we believe.”

The presidency had stated after Buhari missed the last FEC meeting that he had asked that the files on his table be brought to his official residence at the Villa for him to work on.

His senior special adviser on media and publicity, Malam Garba Shehu had also stated that the president was taking things easy, based on his doctors’ advice.