BEVERLY HILLS, April 12, (THEWILL) – The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on Wednesday asserted that the absence of President Muhammadu Buhari at the day’s Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting is not as a result of ill health.
This clarification by Mohammed, which came after the weekly council meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, is in response to speculations that Buhari failed to be at the meeting because of health reasons.
He explained that the President assigned Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo to preside over the Federal Executive Council so as to attend to other official matters.
His words, “Mr President was not in the chamber and the Vice-President did preside over the council meeting. Understandably that has sparked a lot of controversies and agitations in the minds of people.
“Now, I just want to make this clear. Mr President is in town; Mr President is attending to other issues; Mr President looked at the agenda, it was a very light agenda, and said that the Vice-President should preside.
“It’s not unusual for the kind of interest that had been shown especially giving the fact that Mr President was away for a while on medical treatment.
“Yes, we are not surprised that the people are wondering that `is Mr President ill again?’ he is not ill; he is not sick and I’m sure that later in the day or by tomorrow morning he will back in the office.
“It is not unusual even if the President is hale and hearty and everything is going well for the VP to come and preside over the Federal Executive Council,’’ he said.
The minister announced that already the president was meeting with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Babachir Lawal, on national issues.
On the forthcoming second anniversary of the All Progressives Congress, APC-led Federal Government, he disclosed that the Information ministry would soon roll out a comprehensive programme.
Mohammed disclosed that the programme would involve cabinet ministers who would give an account of the stewardship of their respective ministries in the past two years.
