Buhari returns to Nigeria after medical treatment

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari arrived back in the capital Abuja on Sunday after a twelve-day stay in Britain where he had treatment for an ear infection and a holiday.

Buhari exited his plane waving to ministers and army chiefs who came to greet him.

“I am ok. I am better. You can see me inspecting the guards of honour. Now you can do the assessment yourself,” Buhari told reporters at the airport.

President Buhari on arrival at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, this evening pic.twitter.com/IvjkbAtATJ

— President Buhari (@NGRPresident) June 19, 2016

Buhari returns a day before the naira currency is set to be devalued under a new market-driven trading system, ending the central bank’s 16 month fixed exchange rate policy.

Buhari has for months said that he does not want the naira to be devalued, but backed a more flexible exchange rate policy when the central bank outlined its plans in May.

The 73-year-old flew to London on June 6 to see an ear, nose and throat specialist after two doctors in Nigeria recommended further evaluation “as a precaution,” his team said.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said last week that Buhari was in perfect health and would resume work on Monday.

The People’s Democratic Party, Nigeria’s main opposition, said on its Twitter feed on Sunday that Buhari was “critically ill” and he had returned to Abuja to continue treatment, without giving a source for the information.

Buhari left Nigeria days after cancelling two high-profile trips within Nigeria, to the restive Niger Delta region to launch the Ogoniland cleanup and weeks before that, what would have been his first official trip to the commercial capital, Lagos.

Reuters