The president-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, who is presently in London on a private trip, reportedly turned down a Rolls Royce made available for him by the Nigerian High Commission in the UK.
The Nation reports that officials of the Nigerian High Commission were shocked by Buhari’s action when on landing at Heathrow Airport he declined to make use of the Rolls Royce and other facilities provided for him.
It was reported that after exchanging pleasantries with the embassy officials headed by the High Commissioner, Dalhatu Tafida, Buhari courteously told them that his visit was strictly private and that he had made preparation for all his needs while in the United Kingdom.
A source at the airport said that Buhari thanked the Nigerian diplomats for the warm welcome and hopped into a less prestigious car he had ordered and drove out of the airport.
“It appeared he was uncomfortable with the number of exotic cars in the convoy,” the source said.
He added: “Hard as the stunned diplomats present tried to convince him, he refused to bulge, insisting that since he did not inform the Commission of his visit because it was not an official trip, hence he was not entitled to such grandeur.”
When the former military ruler left Abuja on May 22, Friday, on board was the controversial minister of petroleum resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke.
The trip was Buhari’s first outside Nigeria since he won the March 28th presidential poll.
The president-elect had a meeting with the British prime minister David Cameron at his 10 Downing Street official residence.
It was reported that the top item in the talks was the continuing threat the Boko Haram sect posed to Nigeria’s security.
Meanwhile, Buhari’s media team has stated that the president-elect is expected back in the country a few days before the inauguration, adding that he would be refreshed and ready to hit the ground running once he is sworn into
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