Nigeria’s President Buhari absent for 87 days
With Nigeria’s ailing President Muahammadu Buhari absent from duty for 87 days, some people are speculating that he will be removed from office if he is away for three more days.
He is currently in London getting treatment for an undisclosed illness.
But barrister Muhammad Yusuf told BBC Hausa that there is no constitutional requirement for the president to step down or to be replaced if he is away for 90 consecutive days.
He said the president can lose power for the following reasons:
- A court nullifies his election
- Parliament impeaches him if he commits an offence
- He is incapacitated for health reasons
- He resigns.
When some opposition politicians fuelled speculation last month that Mr Buhari was on a life support machine, senior members of the governing party flew to London to meet him.
Later, some governors from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were also invited to visit him.
Both delegations said that Mr Buhari, 74, was not incapacitated.
Mr Buhari was also in London from January to March for treatment. When he returned, he said he had never been so ill and hinted that he had had a blood transfusion.
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has been filling in for Mr Buhari in his absence.
This is the first time a Nigerian president has been absent for so long, although there was a case of a state governor, Danbaba Suntai being absent for about three years after he sustained serious injuries in a plane crash.
His deputy, Umar Garba, served as acting goverrnor in his absence.
