President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday met behind closed doors with the Senate president, Bukola Saraki and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, on many issues that transpired in the country while he was on medical vacation.
Issues discussed at the about 40 minutes meeting included budget, ambassadorial nominees, Niger Delta, Eurobond, and the issue concerning the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, who was confirmed in his absence.
Speaking with State House correspondents at the end of the meeting, Saraki said “after being away for a while it’s good for us to meet and generally review things that were done in his absence, so it was a normal consultation.
Asked to assess the President’s health being a medical doctor, the Senate president added: “I came here to discuss the activities in the National Assembly in his absence, the President met with us and I think we were there for over 40 minutes. I was not talking to myself, so you know he was responding and we were engaging and he engaged us very well.
“We discussed issues of national interests. So we are happy to see him back and he is back at the office working.”
On what Nigerians should expect since the President has sent letter of his resumption, he said “well, the budget is ongoing, things that we passed in his absence, the issue of the CJN, the Eurobond, just general issues that are pending, the issue of the ambassadorial nominees that is due and the stability in the Niger Delta. These are some of the issues we covered in the short period of time.
He said the National Assembly is still working hard to pass the 2017 Budget this month.
“We are working on it and our target is still this month and we are working very hard to ensure we meet that deadline,” Saraki added.
Dogara, on his part, said he was not in the Villa to assess the President.
THE NATION
