Buhari arrives home following an eight-day trip to Saudi Arabia

On Wednesday, Buhari left Saudi Arabia via King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah.

President Muhammadu Buhari just returned from an eight-day official trip to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where he also underwent the Umrah, and has just landed in Abuja (Lesser Hajj).

According to a statement released on Wednesday by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, the presidential aircraft touched down at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport at 5:08 p.m.

Shehu added that the President took nearly seven hours to arrive following a four to five-hour journey from Jeddah to Abuja because the continuing crisis in Sudan required that all air traffic avoid the nation’s airspace.

According to the statement, “the redirected aircraft travelled from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, through Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, DRC, Central African Republic, Cameroon, and ultimately Nigeria.”

The Chief of Staff, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, the Director General of the Department of State Services, Yusuf Magaji Bichi, and the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Danmallam Mohammed, welcomed the President upon his safe arrival in Abuja.

After arriving from Madinah at the Great Mosque in Makkah on Thursday morning, the president successfully completed Umrah procedures under strict security.

In the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, Buhari also paid a visit and offered prayers.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, before travelling to Makkah for the Umrah, he paid a visit to a few revered historical sites in Madinah.

Also, while in Makkah, Mr. Buhari hosted a banquet for traditional and religious authorities (breaking of fast).

Prayers for national harmony, the peaceful conclusion of the President’s term, and the success of the new government were said.