By Ruqayyah Aliyu, Kano
In what appeared like Obasanjo-YarAdua phone call at a rally, President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday spoke with hundreds of Islamic religious leaders who converged on Kano Government House to pray for him.
At a campaign rally on March 7, 2007 in Abeokuta, the then President Olusegun Obasanjo spoke with late Umaru Yar’adua from his hospital bed in Germany to dispel the widespread rumour about the party’s candidate state of health.
Kano State government had organised rounds of prayer sessions at the Government House and over 7,000 mosques in the state for the president’s quick recovery.
Midway into the live TV prayer session, the Personal Assistant to the President on Broadcast Media, Shaaban Sharada, called the president on phone to inform him about the gathering.
The president reportedly asked Mr Sharada to hand over the phone to Kano State governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, who put the phone on speaker mode and attached it to the microphone of his podium.
“Thank you for the prayers. I am really grateful. MashaAllah,” the president said to the chorus of “Allahu Akbar” by the audience.
Mr Buhari left for London on a 10-day medical vacation on 19 January but wrote to the Senate February 5 that he would extend the leave indefinitely.
The president spoke on phone to acting president Yemi Osinbajo on February 6, Senate president Bukola Saraki and Speaker Yakubu Dogara on February 8 respectively.
The duo of Messrs Saraki and Dogara visited him last week and said he was in good spirit.
