Nigeria's Buhari to pass through London after UNGA trip

ABUJA – 16 September 2017: Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari will pass through London, where he spent five months on medical leave this year, on his way home from the United Nations General Assembly, his spokesman said on Friday.

Buhari will depart for New York on Sunday, his spokesman said in an emailed statement. It will be the first time he has left Nigeria since returning on Aug. 19 from Britain, where he received treatment for an unspecified ailment.

Spokesman Femi Adesina said Buhari would hold a lunch meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump and other leaders, adding: "President Buhari will transit through London on his way back to the country."

Buhari will be accompanied on the trip by cabinet ministers and the governors of three states.

Nigeria's Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama told reporters at the United Nations in New York on Friday that Buhari was in "very good health" and "back to what he was before."

"We had a very long cabinet meeting two days ago and he was in excellent form in every way possible," Onyeama said. "He's really leading, he's very, very strong and he's back to his very punishing schedule so it's just fantastic."

Adesina did not say whether Buhari would have medical treatment in London and declined a request to comment further.

The refusal to disclose details of the president's illness has caused speculation about whether the 74-year-old is well enough to run Africa's most populous country and biggest economy.

Buhari was in London on medical leave for two months from January, and again from May 7 to Aug. 19.

After the first trip, the president reduced his working day to a few hours, diplomats and government sources said at the time.

Since the second trip, however, Buhari's office has released a flurry of photos and statements from his engagements, including meetings with his vice president, heads of the armed forces and economic ministers.