Ill Nigerian president appears in rare photo: presidency

[LAGOS] An apparent photo of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari was posted on Twitter on Sunday, offering a rare glimpse of the ill leader since leaving to London for medical treatment in May.

Posted by the official Twitter account of the Nigerian presidency, the picture shows the 74-year-old head of state sitting at a table with a group of people and smiling.

According to the presidency, on Sunday afternoon he received a delegation of "governors and leaders" from his All Progressives Congress (APC) party in London.

"The president sends his best wishes to all Nigerians. He will be back to Nigeria as soon as his doctors give the go-ahead," said the presidency in a separate tweet.

Mr Buhari has spent most of this year in London receiving treatment for an unspecified medical condition.

In January and February, he spent almost two months in Britain and on his return in early March said he had never been as ill.

He left for the British capital again on May 7 for a second round of medical treatment. No date was given for his return.

The presidency has repeatedly rejected rumours that Mr Buhari is terminally ill or even dead but has refused to disclose his illness or what treatment he is having.

AFP