Presidency denies Buhari’s UK, Saudi travel plans

The Presidency has denied the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), is planning to travel to the United Kingdom to spend 20 days.

It also said Buhari had no plans to travel to Saudi Arabia and Austria, describing the information on the UK, Saudi Arabia and Austria trip as “fake.”

Some social media portals reported during the weekend that the President had planned a vacation trip to the UK.

But Buhari’s media aide, Mr Femi Adesina, said on Monday, “Purveyors of fake and concocted information are currently on overdrive, and Nigerians are urged to be careful what they consume as news, and also share with others, particularly from social media.

“An unfounded information has been making the rounds that President Muhammadu Buhari is billed to travel to the UK for 20 days, and from there proceed to Saudi Arabia, and then Austria. Fake. It is nothing but falsehood from mischievous minds.”

The Presidency said “members of the first family, ministers, top government officials, the military, and other key institutions, are equally the object of this orchestrated falsehood, coming from enemies of national cohesion.”

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It added, “We urge Nigerians to be discriminatory about what they accept as credible information, and restrain themselves from sharing what they have not authenticated as genuine.

“That is how we can all collectively beat the malevolent minds at their pernicious games.”

Buhari’s frequent foreign trips have always generated controversies since he assumed office in 2015.

This year, he made his first foreign trip on January 17 when he attended the inaugural UK-Africa Investment Summit in London.

On February 7, he travelled to Adis Ababa, Ethiopia, for the 33rd African Union Summit.

As of November, 2019, available statistics indicated that the President had visited over 40 countries, spending about 410 days out of the country since 2015.
The governor appreciated the President for sending a strong delegation to condole with the state.

On his part, the Emir thanked Buhari for sending the team to Katsina, urging the military and police to put more efforts to tackling the menace.

“We must go all out and spare no effort in tackling them. They are trying to destroy the country,’’ he added.

At the meeting, the heads of security agencies, military and police, gave their situation reports to the delegation, adding that Nigerian Air Force fighter helicopters, with night vision capability, will support the ground operation against bandits.

The delegation included Minister of Defence, General Bashir Magashi (reid.); Minister of Police Affairs, Mohammed Dingyadi; Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika; and Director-General of National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Ahmed Rufa’i-Abubakar.