Presidency keeps mum on why Buhari is yet to use his office 81 days after return from London

macfranc007 November 09, 2017 Nigeria News today & Breaking news ▷ Read Nigerian newspapers 24/7 Jerrywright Ukwu

- President Muhammadu Buhari is yet to use his office in the Aso Rock Villa after 81 years

- The president carries out official assignments from an auxiliary office attached to his residence

- There are talks of spiritual reasons why the president is yet to resume at his office

A report by Premium Times indicates that President Muhammadu Buhari is yet to use his office in the Aso Rock Villa about 81 days since his return from medical vacation in the UK.

President Buhari left Nigeria for another around of medical care in the United Kingdom on Sunday, May 7 and returned on Saturday, August 19.

The president, however, did not resume at his desk on Monday, August 21 as he instead, commenced official assignments from an auxiliary office attached to his official residence within the villa.

President Buhari still avoiding Aso Rock office after 81 days

President Buhari returned to Nigeria on Saturday, August 19 after a long time in the UK for medical vacation. Photo credit: Aso Rock

His failure to resume at the office generated reactions from Nigerians, with many doubting if the president was actually fit enough to resume back at work.

The presidency later issued a statement explaining that Buhari was staying away from the office due to ongoing repair works.

“The regular office needs some renovation because the 103 days of absence” caused “some deterioration” presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina, told State House correspondents.

On his part, another presidential aide, Garba Shehu, later blamed the damages on rodents, an excuse Nigerians largely found amusing.

“Following the three months period of disuse, rodents have caused a lot of damage to the furniture and the air conditioning units,” Shehu had said.

Sources quoted in the report say the president is now using annex offices at other locations within the expansive premises, including one attached to his house.

Another office used by the president is the one adjoining the Banquet Hall in the State House.

President Buhari’s absence from his office is said to be connected to his tortuous health challenges.

There are rumours that spiritualists who worked on the president’s condition advised against his use of the office.

“You know the man was actually bewitched. All these rumours about this or that illness are just guess works. No one was sure, not even the doctors,” an Aso Rock aide said.

“The trip to London in May was unscheduled and all the checks done, including in Germany, revealed nothing. We had to resort to prayers,” he added.

The source said Buhari’s office and other parts of the villa are “undergoing spiritual cleansing to avert any recurrence in the future.”

When contacted, Shehu said the president is at liberty to work from any office or location within the villa.

He however declined further comments on state of repairs of the president’s office as announced by the presidency in August.

Meanwhile, recent media reports indicates that the political machinery of President Buhari is back at work ahead of the 2019 presidential election.

Although the president has not declared intention to remain in power beyond 2019, the possibility that he may do so seems to be coming to fruition as calls for a Buhari second term appears to have received the nod of the presidency.

“If they believe that the president is best positioned for another term, you cannot stop them for expressing their feelings and beliefs just like you cannot stop those who say the president must not run again,” the special adviser to the president on political matters, Senator Babafemi Ojudu, told a national newspaper.

Are Nigerians truly tired of President Buhari? - on NAIJ.com TV