The All Progressives Congress (APC) has resumed nationwide campaign after two weeks of limbo during which its presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, travelled to Europe for what party sources described as strategic meetings.
Buhari told journalists on his arrival at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja on Friday, March 6 that he is physically and mentally fit.
He was scheduled for a town hall meeting in Onitsha yesterday, March 7, and another rally in Lagos the same day.
His trip abroad had sparked off debate about his health, with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) alleging that he went for medical treatment.
However, Buhari appeared at the Royal Institute of Internal Affairs in London, popularly called Chatham House, on Thursday, February 26, where he delivered a lecture.
He returned aboard British Airways clad in a black flowing gown with a flash of white shirt on the collar, and was ushered into the hands of waiting journalists who kept vigil from 4am at the airport.
“I just went off for a couple of weeks to rest. That’s all I did,” he explained.
Pressed on whether he visited a hospital, he said: “I went to rest, that is all I did; and I am here alive, hail, and hearty. I went to Chatham House and read an address and there were question and answer and you pressmen heard it. What do you want me to say?”
He insisted that his absence did not affect the campaign of the APC because “one person doesn’t make a party; don’t forget that we are a number of opposition parties that came together to form the APC, so no one owns the party. This party belongs to all of us.”
Buhari was received by APC Deputy Campaign Director General, Olurunnimbe Mamora, and other party chieftains as well as supporters.
APC Presidential Campaign Council Media Director, Garuba Shehu, said a town hall meeting would be held in Onitsha where Buhari would interact with the residents of Anambra State.