President Muhammadu Buhari has said he is ready to welcome the “president-elect”, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to the State House, Abuja, by May 29 when he (Buhari) would have completed an eight-year spell in government.
Buhari said this on Friday morning while exchanging Eid greetings in a phone call to mark the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a statement by the Presidency said.
“Both leaders thanked God Almighty for seeing this day and prayed for the stability and the wellbeing of the nation.
“President Buhari expressed his readiness to welcome Asiwaju Tinubu to the State House as President on May 29th,” Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity, added in the release.
Tinubu is presently out of the country, attending to an undisclosed ailment.
SaharaReporters during the week reported that Tinubu was yet to arrive in Saudi Arabia to participate in this year’s Lesser Hajj with days before the celebration of Eid-el-fitr.
This was in contrast to what his media aide, Tunde Rahman, told the public four weeks ago in a statement reacting to an exclusive report by SaharaReporters that the “president-elect” was ill and had travelled to Europe to seek medical treatment.
SaharaReporters had reported that Tinubu travelled to Europe to seek medical care after the “hectic” electioneering that led to his emergence as the 'President-elect' and the tension that built up ahead of the March 18 Lagos State governorship and House of Assembly elections where he also voted.
Responding to this, Tunde had released a press statement where he claimed that “President-elect, Asíwájú Bola Tinubu, had travelled abroad to rest and plan his transition programme ahead of May 29, 2023 inauguration.”
Explaining the reason for the trip, Rahman had said, “The president-elect decided to take a break after the hectic campaign and election season to rest in Paris and London, preparatory to going to Saudi Arabia for Umrah (Lesser Hajj) and the Ramadan Fasting that begins Thursday.
“While away, the President-elect will also use the opportunity to plan his transition programme. He has directed all the senior aides and campaign staff to also go and observe a short rest. He is expected back in the country soon.
“We enjoin the media to stop publishing rumours and unsubstantiated claims and to always seek clarifications from our office.”
Last Wednesday, one of his loyalists, Sam Omatseye tweeted a picture of Tinubu and President Muhammadu Buhari with the following caption: “ASIWAJU TINUBU. PRESIDENT ELECT AND PRESIDENT BUHARI AT MECCA, SAUDI ARABIA TODAY, APRIL 12, 2023.”
But when fact-checked, it was discovered that Omatseye had posted an old picture. It was taken in 2019, in the Presidential Villa in Abuja when Buhari hosted Tinubu for fast breaking. It was also in the month of Ramadan.
The former Lagos governor was not seen among several Nigerian dignitaries, including politicians, who travelled to Saudi Arabia for this year’s pilgrimage, nor was there any publication from his team regarding his purported trip to the holy land.