The FG has reacted to President Muhammadu Buhari's
return to London after his visit to New York on Sunday for the 72nd
Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Buhari
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, has said that there
was no cause for alarm over the President’s stop over in London after
the 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
Onyeama spoke in New York while briefing journalists on Nigeria’s participation at the ongoing UNGA.
Recall that the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, had in a statement on Friday disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari will return to London after attending the UNGA.
However, Adesina did not disclose the purpose of Buhari’s visit to London nor when he will return.
The development had raised concerns concerning the President’s
health. But Onyeama said the President would be leading the delegation
to the General Assembly and he is in very good health.
“He is really back to what he was doing before. He had a very
long cabinet meeting two days ago (Wednesday) and he was in excellent
form in everyway possible.
“So, he is back. In fact, I think I had put when he came back
that welcome back, that we were delighted that he is here. He has fired
up and ready to lead and he is really leading. He is very, very strong.”
Onyeama further said the President was back to his very punishing schedule, adding that the president was just fantastic.
He dismissed fears that the president would not be able to make the UNGA trip, insisting that the president would make the trip.
“The reality is that Mr President would be here, he is in
excellent health and he is going to be leading a very strong high-level
Nigerian delegation,” Onyeama stated.
On the declaration of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) by the
Defence Headquarters as a militant terrorist organisation, Onyeama said
he believed that the military must have acted based on experience.
“I think this would obviously come from their experiences. They
are obviously on the frontline. So, if that is what they are saying, it
must be maybe because there have been incidences that they have had to
deal with directly,” Onyeama noted.
On possible answers the government has for the international
community regarding Biafra, Onyeama further said that the implementation
of the President’s agenda for the country was more important rather
than distractions.
“Mr President came and had an agenda for the country. And we really just don’t want to be distracted from that agenda.
“On the economy which was in a terrible state when this
government came in: we went into recession and for the first time in
decades and we are just coming out of that recession. And we want to
keep on that path.
“We believe that a lot of these issues and challenges in the
country have their basis in economics. If we can provide a good standard
of living and quality of life for our people, all these issues will
fall by the way side. So, that is why we must not be distracted from
transforming the economy of our country.
“What I am saying is that we want to focus on the economy. We
believe that if we can get the economy right, a lot of the young people
who feel that Nigeria, as presently constituted is not addressing their
problems, is not giving them hope, will change,” Onyeama said.
