How Buhari’s ‘sick leave’ is affecting Nigerian politics
National Assembly over the economy and budget-related matters. Senate President Abubakar Bukola Saraki and House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara visited Osinbajo twice.
Osinbajo had led the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting three times between January 25 and February 8 where contracts were approved and certain policy decisions were made. Penultimate Wednesday, the council raised a task force to reduce prices of food items. A N21 billion contract for the construction of the Ilorin-Kabba Road was awarded.
Osinbajo also met with the service chiefs. On January 20, he was briefed on the situation in The Gambia, where Nigerian troops were deployed last month.
However, the routine meeting of the National Security Council (NSC), which is headed by the president, has not been convened since President Buhari departed.
Since the president left, there has not been any meeting of the Council of State, even though Buhari himself only held such a meeting twice since his assumption of office on May 29, 2015.
On February 1, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo inaugurated new five national commissioners of the National Population Commission. But after administering the oath of office on them, the acting president made no remarks.
On Tuesday last week, the acting president forwarded the name of the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, to the Senate for confirmation as substantive CJN.
Osinbajo has also been briefed by several heads of agencies including those of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Nigeria Customs Service, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission and the Department of State Services.
Two traditional rulers have visited the acting president at the State House. They are the Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi and the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu.
The Presidency has asserted that Osinbajo has done everything he ought to do as acting president.
His Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande, said in a chat with our correspondent on Thursday: “There is absolutely nothing needed to be done that has not been done, the acting president has presided over Federal Executive Council meetings and has met with service chiefs. In fact, his first meeting with the service chiefs was when we came back from Davos when they briefed him on the situation in The Gambia. President Muhammadu Buhari has done well by transmitting powers to his deputy in line with the constitution,” he said.
Akande said Osinbajo could not have moved to Buhari’s office because the former is only acting as president. ‘Buhari, a victim of diabolical machinations’
Ardent supporters of the president told our correspondent that Buhari had been a victim of “diabolical machinations”, making it difficult for him to concentrate.
Nasiru Aminu, a resident of Katsina, said many people were deploying diabolical means to distract Buhari from concentrating on his duties.
“The president was not as frail as he is now when he assumed office in 2015, that time, he was extremely agile and focused but he is no more himself now and we actually see the devil at work,” he said.
Aminu said Buhari’s adversaries had deployed “prayer merchants to cause curses” that would make it difficult to concentrate.
“The opposition to the president is not just from southern Nigeria because hundreds of so-called Mallams are being sponsored to Saudi Arabia and other places to pray against the success of the president,” he said.
Another supporter, Abba Yakubu, said the president was “tamed” right from the onset.
“We know that his several travels abroad at the inception of his administration were not normal, some unpatriotic elements tagged him through dubious means to be traveling and when he finally settled, they changed tactics, he is now constantly sick,” he said.
Strange stories from the Presidential Villa are not new. Former- first lady, Patience Jonathan, had reportedly said her health status significantly improved after her husband vacated the seat of power. Former presidential spokesmen, Reuben Abati Femi Fani-Kayode had also at different times aired their views on “strange happenings” in the Presidential Villa.
However, in his analogy, the Senator representing Katsina South, Senator Abu Ibrahim, said contrary to insinuations, Buhari is not sick but merely exhausted as a result of the various challenges confronting his government.
A close ally of the president, a Katsina senator who visited Buhari in London recently, said issues that might have taken a toll on the president, including the destruction of oil pipelines that reduced production to almost half, the fall in oil price that affected the economy and led to the current recession and the falling exchange rate that has affected the purchasing power of most Nigerians.
Monday’s demonstrations in Abuja and Lagos by two opposing groups-#I stand with Buhari and #I stand with Nigeria, brought to the fore, how Buhari’s disposition to power is redefining politics in the country.
But the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said it was only in Nigeria that citizens would act the way they acted over straight issues.
“I want to assure you, Mr. President is well and is in absolutely no danger. Mr. President, like I said elsewhere, is probably a victim of his own transparency,” he said.
The opposition to the president is not just from southern Nigeria because hundreds of so-called Mallams are being sponsored to Saudi Arabia and other places to pray against the success of the president