PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari was, again, absent at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the Aso Villa, Abuja, on Wednesday, with the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed saying he did not come to office because he needed rest.
Mohammed, speaking with State House correspondents after the meeting, said the president would work from his official residence inside the Presidential Villa on Wednesday and had already directed that all files on his desk be brought home to him.
The government spokesman said: “We just concluded the Federal Executive Council meeting, I’m sure you noticed that the president was not there. He was not there because he asked that he be allowed to rest and asked the vice president to preside.
“And he will be working from home. He has asked all his files to be taken to him in the house. He will be working from home today.”
There were fresh fears over the president’s health when, for the third week, he failed to show up at the regular FEC meeting.
Wednesday’s meeting, moved from 10.00a.m to 11.00 a.m, set off without him showing up at the Aso Chambers venue with the lot falling on Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo to, once again, preside for the third time in a row.
FEC meeting was cancelled last week, ostensibly because of the inability of the president to participate, but the Presidency blamed it on Easter holiday, which, it said, prevented necessary memos from being circulated for the meeting.
On Wednesday, there were initially some indications that he would attend but things soon changed as the Chief of Protocol came into the hall and whispered into the ears of Osinbajo, who had been waiting for the arrival of the president along with 18 ministers.
The vice president thereafter called the meeting to order and requested for the opening prayer.
President Buhari had drastically scaled down his official activities since returning from the United Kingdom after obtaining treatment for an undisclosed ailment for nearly two months.
Briefing reporters on the outcome of Wednesday’s meeting, Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, said the council approved N3.8 billion for the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) for the lease of fast-going vessels, as well as to enable it to perform its responsibilities.
He said the council also approved the purchase of vehicles for the Nigerian Immigration Service worth N358 million while there was a variation in the amount approved for the construction of the headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to N5 billion.
Speaking on the items approved, Amaechi said: “One was NIMASA that had to do with the lease of fast-going vessels to enable NIMASA to perform its responsibility on the high sea.
“The cost for the lease for NIMASA is N3.8 billion for the next one year.
“The other is the purchase of land patrol vehicles for the Nigerian Immigration Service. 56 vehicles to procured at a total cost of N358 million.
“The last was the change in the cost of construction of the EFCC headquarters due to foreign exchange fluctuation. This is N5 billion.”
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