Presidency dismisses reports on protest against Buhari in Japan

By Ismaila Chafe

Abuja, Aug. 26, 2019

The Presidency has urged Nigerians to disregard concocted stories, backed with spurious visuals, of any protest or harassment of President Muhammadu Buhari and his team, who arrived Japan on Monday.

A statement by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, in Abuja on Monday, said the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has had nothing to do with President Buhari since he arrived Yokohama, Japan.

The statement read in part: “Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora are urged to disregard concocted stories, backed with spurious visuals, of any protest or harassment of the President and his team.

“It is the stock-in-trade of hate mongers, who do not realise that the rest of Nigerians have left them far behind.’’

The presidential aide stated that Buhari would make his presence at the Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7) count for Nigeria, and “no scare-mongering or sabre-rattling will detract from the outing.’’

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) State House correspondent reports that Buhari left Abuja on Aug. 25.

A report posted by the president’s personal assistant on new media, Alhaji Bashir Ahmed, at about 1.25 p.m. showed Buhari with Gov. Samuel Ortom of Benue and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama.

Also in the pictorial report are the Nigerian Ambassador to Japan, Mr Mohammed Yisa, seen with Buhari at the president’s hotel in Yokohama.