Nigeria's Buhari to travel to London for medical check

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari 

What you need to know:

  • Buhari, 79, has been dogged by questions over his health after he spent more than 100 days in London in 2017 receiving treatment for an undisclosed ailment.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari will travel to London shortly for the latest in a series of routine medical checkups, his spokesman said on Tuesday.
Buhari, 79, has been dogged by questions over his health after he spent more than 100 days in London in 2017 receiving treatment for an undisclosed ailment.
He has visited London several times since for checkups, including a trip in July last year.

He will head to Nairobi on Tuesday for ceremonies to mark the 50th anniversary of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), presidential spokesman Femi Adesina said in a statement.
"From Kenya, President Buhari will proceed to London for routine medical checks that will last for a maximum of two weeks," Adesina said.
His regular health trips overseas have been questioned by critics who point to the deteriorated state of the public healthcare system of Africa's most populous nation. 

Buhari's health became part of the political debate before the last election in 2019 when the opposition claimed the former military commander was not physically fit to govern. 
Political manoeuvering is already heating up in Nigeria ahead of the February 2023 general election to replace Buhari after two terms in office.
The health of Nigeria's leaders has been a sensitive topic since the 2010 death in office of president Umaru Musa Yar'Adua after months of treatment abroad.