President Muhammadu Buhari will leave Nigeria on Saturday for an official trip to Paris, the France capital.
It was learnt from top sources that the President would be in Paris for at least four days, where he has also been scheduled to meet his doctor.
“Buhari will be heading to Paris for four days. He was planning to go to Kampala (Uganda) and travel to London, the United Kingdom, to see his doctors but they opted to meet him in Paris. He will be travelling on Saturday,” a top source disclosed.
It was earlier reported how Buhari planned to attend the inauguration of Uganda’s tight-fist dictator, Yoweri Museveni, and from there let him visit the UK for treatment.
But the plan was later shelved and the decision to send Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to Uganda to represent Buhari was made at the last minute when it appeared that the UK trip was not feasible.
Top presidency sources had told this newspaper that Buhari’s health, particularly his dementia, had deteriorated recently, and he was incoherent at the security chiefs’ meetings in the last two weeks.
“Buhari had wanted to travel to go for Museveni’s inauguration in Uganda and now use the opportunity to go to London but they changed the plans last minute and sent Osinbajo,” a top source had revealed.
According to a release from the State House, Osinbajo would be joining several other Heads of State and Government for the swearing-in ceremony scheduled for Wednesday, May 12, at Kololo Independence Grounds in Kampala, the nation’s capital city.
The Vice President, who also participated at the resumed National Security Council meeting presided over by the President at the Presidential Villa, later travelled to Lagos State, where he attended another function.
“He departs Lagos this evening for Kampala and would be accompanied by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Zubairu Dada, and the Special Adviser on Economic Matters to the President, Ambassador Adeyemi Dipeolu. He is expected back in the country later on Wednesday,” the state House release reads.
