Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on Monday spoke for the first time since President Muhammadu Buhari’s departure for the United Kingdom, where he is undergoing medical tests for undisclosed reasons, assuring Nigerians that contrary to the speculations surrounding the health of his principal and the fake news reported by some online news media, he was under no pressure from any quarters to resign.
Osinbajo also disclosed that he had a phone conversation with the President on Monday and he was “hale and hearty”.
Osinbajo spoke to reporters after he met with the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun at the State House, Abuja.
He said: “I’m not under pressure to resign. I was voted for by the people of this nation, myself and Mr. President and so the people of this nation have not asked us to resign.
“I am absolutely not under any pressure whatsoever. The truth is that there has been no pressure from any source asking me to resign.”
On the status of the president’s health, which has continued to generate anxiety throughout the country, especially after he extended his vacation in the UK on the advise of his doctors, Osinbajo said: “The president is hale and hearty, I spoke with the president just this afternoon.
“We had a warm conversation, he was interested in knowing about the budget process and how far we have gone and the meeting today with the private sector and the economic recovery growth plan. I informed him about the protest march and the feedback on what people are saying about the economy. He is in a good shape.
“Just like he said in his letter to the National Assembly, he needs to go for a cycle of tests and once he sees the test results and gets medical advice, we should expect him very soon.”
On the exact status of Buhari’s health, Osinbajo stressed that only the president could discuss the issue.
“I think that the health status of Mr. President is an issue that only Mr. President can discuss at the appropriate time. Again he is running tests and all of that.
“Before you are able to determine your health status you must be able to say this is my health status categorically: do the tests my doctors have advised me to do and wait for the outcome of the tests and know my status.”