President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday
resumed in his office inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja, for the
first time since he was inaugurated on May 29.
Shortly after arriving his office, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo joined him.As Osinbajo was trekking the long distance from his office to that of the President, some State House workers were seen exchanging pleasantries with him.
Buhari and Osinbanjo thereafter met with some of their top aides.
While the meeting was ongoing, service chiefs also arrived at the premises to meet with the President.
Buhari finally relocated to the Villa on Sunday barely three days after his wife, Aisha, relocated.
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Three weeks after his May 29
inauguration, President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday evening relocated to
the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He joined his wife, Aisha, who had moved in on Thursday.
Before he finally moved in, the
President had in the afternoon of Sunday visited the Presidential Villa
where he stayed for about 30 minutes.
Those who thought that he had finally
relocated to the seat of power were however shocked when Buhari left the
premises after spending a few minutes.
He later returned finally in the evening.
It will be recalled that since their
inauguration, Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo have yet to
relocate to the Presidential Villa.
They have been operating from their
private residences and the Defence House, Maitama, which is the official
residence of the President-elect.
Surprisingly, however, the President’s
wife on Thursday relocated to the Presidential Villa at a time when her
husband was out of Abuja.
Buhari was at that time on private trips to Kaduna and Daura, his hometown in Katsina State.
Multiple Presidency sources had said
that the President would join his wife inside the Presidential Villa
upon his return to Abuja after the trip.
However, when Buhari returned to the
Federal Capital Territory on Saturday, he retired to his private
residence in Aso Drive, from where he had been operating.
But on Sunday afternoon, the President
reportedly visited the Presidential Villa, apparently to spend a few
minutes with his wife as he prepared to join her.
“The President was here this afternoon
(Sunday). He arrived at about 2pm and spent about 30minutes before he
left. He later returned in the evening. At last, the President has moved
in,” a Presidency official said.
It was not clear at press time whether Osinbajo had also moved in.
With his relocation, Buhari is expected to operate from the President’s office for the first time on Monday (today).
The Senior Special Assistant to the
President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, had at a time told
our correspondent that ongoing renovation work was hindering Buhari
from moving in.
“As far as the President is concerned,
the place (his official residence) is not ready yet. Workers are
cleaning and refurbishing the place. Once the exercise is completed, the
President will move in,” he had said.
He later released photographs of workers
of the construction giant, Julius Berger Plc, who were painting the
outer walls of the President’s office as proofs of renovation work.
Shehu had also last week Tuesday issued a
statement to debunk speculations that Buhari had refused to move into
the Presidential Villa since his inauguration because of purported
advice from some Senegalese spiritualists.
He explained that “Buhari is a Muslim who believes his fate belongs to God.”
He added that “no true believer combines
faith in God with reliance on the power of ordinary mortals, who can
neither protect themselves, nor protect others from the hands of fate.”
He said the purported “spiritual
cleansing of the Aso Rock Villa by Senegalese marabouts before President
Buhari moves into the Villa” was the figment of the imagination of
rumour mongers.
Shehu added that it was ridiculous to
attribute Buhari’s delay in moving into the Villa to any advice from
fictitious marabouts, insisting that renovation work was largely
responsible for the delay.
