By Oluyemi Ogunseyin

Former President Muhammadu Buhari with his wife, Aisha, arrives Daura in his home state of Katsina, after handing over to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Monday, May 29, 2023.

Nigeria’s immediate past president, Muhammadu Buhari is in Daura, Katsina state and not in exile, according to his spokesman, Mallam Garba Shehu.

Shehu debunked a report by a national daily that the former President fled the country and is now in exile.

“For misleading the otherwise credible newspaper to falsely report on their front page that former President Muhammadu Buhari has “fled” and on “exile” when he is currently at home with family in Daura, Katsina State, BusinessDay newspaper should sack their reporter who didn’t do the job of checking his facts,” Shehu tweeted.

“BusinessDay should think 10 times before running any information from the particular reporter and verify it before believing him.

“Every platform has tools to verify any information and we don’t expect anything less from BusinessDay.”

Shehu said that if they had browsed through different sources, they would have seen reports of the former President having come back home and enjoying the company of his family.

“A single fake news in a newspaper has the capability to destroy a reputation built on years of hard work,” Buhari’s spokesperson wrote.

Meanwhile, Buhari has congratulated his successor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on his emergence as the new chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

President Tinubu on Sunday succeeded Umaro Embalo of Guinea Bissau as the Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS.

Buhari in a statement issued by Shehu, said he was elated to hear the news that Tinubu was elected as ECOWAS chairman at the 63rd Ordinary Session of the regional bloc in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau.

“West Africans have entrusted our new leader with an enormous responsibility, and it will be our task as citizens to support him to not let them down,” Buhari said.

“I pray the Almighty will make his tenure as Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government see to the restoration of ECOWAS as the bastion of democracy, good governance and a leader in fighting terrorism and climate change on the continent.”