- Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has disclosed more details on his meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari
- A source within the presidency said the visit might be to prove that nobody was trying to hide anything pertaining the president's health to Osinbajo
- Osinbajo said he won't go into the specifics of all his discussions he had with President Buhari
In a report by Daily Trust, sources close to the presidency say Acting President Yemi Osinbajo's visit to President Muhammadu Buhari in London may not be unconnected with a number of issues cropping up in the seat of power.
NAIJ.com gathered that there are much more to the recent visit than Osinbajo’s comments about President Buhari recuperating fast.
A source said there is a latent division in the presidency between loyalists of Buhari and the acting president.
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The source said: "There are also issues concerning the EFCC chairman, Ibrahim Magu, cabinet reshuffle, the fate of Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ayo Oke who have been on suspension for months,the NHIS man and all that. But generally, I believe the visit was to somehow douse tension.
“Again, all this may be speculative in the end. But I know for sure there are issues and there's a division."
Another source said the visit might be to prove to Osinbajo that nobody was trying to hide anything pertaining the president's health to him.
The source added that there appears to be "silent division" in the presidency and that based on observations, the relationship between the president and the acting president’s staff is not as cordial as it used to be.
Some of the president's men are said not to be happy with the way Osinbajo has been taking some decisions and dealing with matters.
"Some people are also not happy with some of the changes the acting president did. For example, some of the president's men were not comfortable with the changes in PenCom and Bank of Industry," the source said.
On if some appointees do not give Osinbajo due respect, the source said:"I don't think that's the case. I know the man. He's a very humble person. He's not power-drunk to the extent that he'll expect too much respect from anybody. In any case, I don't see anybody disrespecting him."
On Wednesday, July 12, when asked what exactly he discussed with Buhari, Osinbajo said he went to check on the president, find out how he was doing and brief him on the developments in Nigeria.
Osinbajo while speaking with State House correspondents on the outcome of his meeting with President Buhari in the United Kingdom Tuesday night, July 11, stressed that the president was in a very high spirit, recuperating fast and would return to Nigeria very shortly.
The acting president stated: "Well, first, as you know, I went to see him, I went to check on him find out how he was doing. I had, of course, been speaking with on the phone and I thought it would be a good thing to go and see him and, you know, generally check up on how he was doing and also to brief him on developments back at home.
"So, we had a very good time, we had a very good conversation on wide ranging issues and he is in very good spirits, he is recuperating very quickly and he is doing very well."
On if the president will return before 90 days of his departure for London, Osinbajo said it is not a good thing to give such a deadline.
Osinbajo also disclosed that he did not have any date in mind for the inauguration of the two new ministers-designate, Stephen Ocheni and Suleiman Hassan.
The acting president also stressed that he was not in a position to say anything about when they would be sworn in. He said they would be sworn in very soon.
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Osinbajo while speaking with journalists yesterday that they didn't discuss anything like the swearing-in of the ministers-designate, adding that he could not go into the specifics of all his discussions with Buhari.
In a previous report by NAIJ.com, Osinbajo briefed Buhari concerning some of the threat of secession and he was given the commendation to continue to maintain the unity of the country.
A source said: “The President endorsed all the consultations and actions taken by the Acting President and asked him to continue to take steps to keep Nigeria indivisible.
“The President was delighted that Osinbajo managed the threats to the nation’s unity with courage and maturity.” “Osinbajo secured approval to take some decisions and make some appointments.”
Watch a NAIJ.com TV video of Nigerians speaking about Buhari's ministers:
