Protest welcomes Buhari to UK as Presidency says he won’t be distracted

Protesters on Monday welcomed President Muhammadu Buhari to the United Kingdom on Monday.
But the Presidency was quick to react to it, saying the President would not be distracted from his mission in the United Kingdom by the protest.
Buhari, who left Nigeria on Monday, nine days ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Teresa May and perform other official functions.
But on arriving at the Abuja House in Kensington, London, he was greeted by a protest by some Nigerians.
This came barely 24 hours after President Muhammadu Buhari declared his intention to contest for another term in office as President of Nigeria.
Presidency sources alleged that the camps of suspected looters and corrupt elements within and outside the country are behind the protest, having been jolted by Buhari’s announcement to seek reelection, which forced them to push panic buttons, including renting a motley crowd of professional demonstrators to protest against the President on his arrival into the United Kingdom.
According to impeccable sources in Aso Rock Villa and Britain, extremely corrupt Nigerians who are custodians of slush funds stolen from Nigeria and hiding in UK or are resident cronies of such elements, have colluded to form a league of protesters with a singular aim of distracting and disorganising the scheduled state visit of the President to England for bilateral talks with Prime Minister May and other dignitaries.
The source said: “Esteemed Nigerians home and abroad, friends and business investors in Nigeria, should please see through the veil of the motive behind the Abuja House, Kensington London demonstration. It was an orchestrated act of desperation and a ploy to blackmail and hoodwink the President from concentrating on his anti corruption campaign, which is fast gaining grounds locally and internationally.
“This unpatriotic act is not unconnected to the Federal government policies to name and shame corrupt citizens and looters; to collate database of Nigerians with homes in UK who are not paying the right taxes, and the hot drive to prosecute all financial defaulters through bilateral and multilateral means.”
According to security sources, the protesters are said to be bent on embarrassing and humiliating the President throughout his stay in the UK.
An insider vowed that they will take their demonstrations to the venue of CHOGM holding later in the month in Britain, which President Buhari is attending as a Commonwealth Head of State.
The Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Malam Garba Shehu, said Buhari will not be distracted from his mission in the UK by the protest.