The Presidency on Thursday assured Nigerians that there is no need for apprehension over the state of health of President Muhammadu Buhari.

It, however, said as eager as the President wanted to be up and about, his doctors have advised him to take things slowly.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, disclosed this in a statement he made available to journalists.

Shehu explained that Buhari’s absence at the Federal Executive Council meeting on Wednesday, was a last minute decision; otherwise, the cabinet and the public might have been alerted in advance.

“As eager as he is to be up and about, the President’s doctors have advised on his taking things slowly, as he fully recovers from the long period of treatment in the United Kingdom some weeks ago,” he said.

While saying that the President himself on his return to the country made Nigerians aware of the state of his health while he was in London, Shehu said full recovery is sometimes a slow process, requiring periods of rest and relaxation, as the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, intimated in his press briefing after the FEC meeting on Wednesday.

He added, “Despite his lack of visibility, Nigerians should rest assured that President Buhari has not abdicated his role as Commander-in-Chief of Nigeria. He receives daily briefings on the activities of government and confers regularly with his Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo.

“His private residence, in which he has been spending the majority of his time recently, also has a fully equipped office.

“God is the giver of life and health. We are grateful that He has seen our President through the worst period of his convalescence in London.

“We are thankful that the President has passed a number of benchmarks already. We pray that God continues to see him through this period of recuperation.”

Punchng