Nigeria Civil Society Activists Urge Buhari To Take Medical Leave (SEE FULL STATEMENT)

President Buhari has not been seen in public for more than a week. AFP

Some of Nigeria's most high profile civil society leaders have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to take medical leave.

BBC Africa Live report continues:

The president's absence from two consecutive cabinet meetings as well as Friday prayers last week has fuelled speculation about the state of his health.

He has not been seen in public for more than a week and the hashtag #WhereIsBuhari has been trending on Twitter in Nigeria over the past 24 hours

In March, he returned from seven weeks of medical leave in the UK, but did not disclose the nature of his illness.

In a statement (BELOW), the activists, including lawyer Femi Falana and political analyst Jibrin Ibrahim, said:

We are compelled to advise him to heed the advice of his personal physicians by taking a rest to attend to his health without any further delay."

They quote Mr Buhari's spokesman as saying that his doctors advised him to take things slowly.

READ THE GROUP'S FULL STATEMENT BELOW:

When President Mohammadu Buhari was recently in the United Kingdom on a medical vacation, which lasted 59 days, many public officers said that he was "hale and hearty." But upon his return to the country President Buhari disclosed that he had never been that sick in his entire life. Even though the President did not disclose the nature of his ailment, he revealed that he went through blood transfusion. While thanking the Nigerian people for their prayers, the President announced that he might soon travel back for further medical treatment.

A few weeks ago, the Governor of Kaduna state, Mr. Nasir El-Rufai urged Nigerians to give President Buhari time to recover from his sickness. The plea was made after the Governor had visited and presumably assessed the state of the President at the presidential villa in Abuja. However, due to the apparent deterioration in the President's health condition, he has neither been seen in public in the last one week nor attended the last two meetings of the Federal Executive Council. His absence at the last Jumat service in the villa has fuelled further speculations and rumours on President Buhari's medical condition.

But instead of embarking on regular briefing on the actual state of the health of President Buhari, officials of the federal government have continued to assure the Nigerian people that the is no need for apprehension over the matter. In defending the absence of the President at the last FEC meeting and other state functions, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Garba Shehu stated that "the president's doctors have advised on his taking things slowly, as he fully recovers from the long period of treatment in the United Kingdom some weeks ago."

As we join the Nigerian people of goodwill to pray for a speedy recovery of President Buhari, we are compelled to advise him to heed the advice of his personal physicians by taking a rest to attend to his health without any further delay.