Godswill Akpabio, president of the senate, returned to Nigeria in the early hours of Monday after what his media office described as a short vacation in London.
Akpabio, dressed in a blue suit and face cap, arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, at about 4am, where he was welcomed at the presidential wing by senators, aides, and supporters.
His return follows widespread social media speculation claiming he was critically ill and hospitalised in London.
Speaking to journalists at the airport, Akpabio dismissed the reports, describing them as “the imagination of the purveyors.”
“There’s nothing like such. I’m fit as a fiddle. I only stopped over in London for a short vacation,” he said.
Before his trip to the UK, the senate president had attended the sixth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament in Geneva, Switzerland, held from July 29 to 31.
He explained that the Nigerian delegation at the Geneva conference “played an important role in advocating for deeper democratic governance and better synergy between arms of government.”
Akpabio also assured Nigerians of “robust legislative engagements” when the senate reconvenes from recess.
The 62-year-old senate president, elected in June 2023, had previously served as governor of Akwa Ibom State and as minister of Niger Delta affairs.
Earlier, on August 11, Gbenga Daniel, chairman of the senate committee on navy, had also debunked the rumours of Akpabio’s illness during a meeting in London.
“Your excellency, the news out there is that you have been indisposed, but seeing you here now paints a very different picture. Congratulations, your excellency,” Daniel, the Ogun East senator, had said.