Posted by Written by Mohammed S. Shehu on
More than two weeks after he left the country for Saudi Arabia for the treatment of kidney related disease, President Umaru musa Yar'adua, at last, returned to Nigeria early this morning, along with his wife, Hajiya Turai Yar'adua.
More than two weeks after he left the country for Saudi Arabia for the treatment of kidney related disease, President Umaru musa Yar'adua, at last, returned to Nigeria early this morning, along with his wife, Hajiya Turai Yar'adua.
The president was also in company of the Peoples Democratic party (PDP) chairman, Chief Vincent Ogbulafor; Katsina state governor alhaji Ibrahim Shehu Shema, and his Kwara state counterpart, Dr. Bukola Saraki; president's director of protocol, alhaji Inuwa Baba; president's relatives and a host of other top government officials. He was seen off from the King Abdulazeez International Airport, Jeddah by Nigeria's Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Alhaji Abdullahi Garba Aminchi and Saudi Royal Protocol officials.
Impeccable source close to Nigeria's embassy in Riyad told Weekly Trust last night that the president boarded the presidential plane from Jeddah airport, around 10pm (local time) and arrived in Abuja early in the hours of today.
President Yar'adua has been in Saudi Arabia since august 20, supposedly for the muslims lesser hajj (Umrah), a ritual that takes only a few hours to perform. But despite government's denials over the past two weeks, speculations persist in the country about Yar'adua's health that the president only went to the holy land for a surgery.
Ogbulafor joined the president in Jeddah on Thursday, saying he met the president in high spirit. Ogbulafor, who spoke last night through the party's national publicity secretary, Professor Rufai Alkali, said the president's health improved tremendously.
But there were speculations yesterday that the president after his return may go back to Germany soon after addressing the country in an unscheduled national broadcast. Weekly Trust also learnt that ministers and other top government officials will have an opportunity to see the president within the week.