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Former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, is ill and has been hospitalized in London for an undisclosed ailment.

It was gathered from a reliable source in London that the former military ruler was brought into London last week for urgent medical care, adding that the Chairman of the National Peace Committee had been sick for some time before the family decided to seek medical treatment care for him outside Nigeria.

General Abubakar, as a result of his sickness, could not be in Ado Ekiti earlier in the past week for the Gubernatorial Peace Pact signed by all the 11 political parties and their candidates on Wednesday, June 15, 2022.  He was represented by Bishop Mathew Kukah and other members of the National Peace Committee.

Our correspondent learned that General Abubakar could not celebrate his 80th birthday on June 13, 2022, as earlier planned because of the sickness that has confined him to a hospital bed in London.
President Muhammadu Buhari, governors, and other leaders through press releases and statements celebrated the elder statesman for his accomplishment, patriotism, and ushering in democratic governance in Nigeria on May 29, 1999, after about two decades of military dictatorship.
According to our source, the health condition of General Abdulsalam calls for worry but his doctors are working to stabilize him and return him to good health.

“He was 80 years old last week and all plans to celebrate him in a big way by family, friends, and associates could not materialize because he had to be brought to London for medical care. His condition is not deteriorating but calls for worry. He is not a young man at 80 but we are praying for good health for him.
“We don’t know how long he will stay here. We hope he will return to Nigeria as soon as his health is better and allowed to go by his doctors. General Abubakar is a stabilizing figure in Nigeria. He is well respected across the board and we pray to God to grant him more years,” said the source who saw him in the last 48 hours.

A four-member flight crew of Overland Airways made a successful landing of a distressed aircraft on the Runway 18R of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos after the plane’s engine caught fire mid-air on Wednesday evening.

The ATR 42 aircraft, which has 37 passengers on board, was en-route Ilorin-Lagos when the plane suddenly developed a major fault.
The pilots had sent out a distress signal to the Lagos control tower.

The Lagos airport control tower consequently put the airport emergency response team, including the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria’s fire services department, on notice, following the Mayday.
The pilot finally landed the faulty plane safely on the international airport’s runway amid a fully prepared airport emergency response team.

The aircraft’s registration number is 5N-BRQ.
Overland later issued a statement confirming the incident.
The statement partly reads, “Overland Airways wishes to inform the general public that its flight OF1188 from Ilorin to Lagos experienced an unusual high turbine temperature on one of its engines today, Wednesday, June 15, 2022, around 7:50 pm.

“This occurred in the approach phase of flight and the aircraft landed very safely as the crew skillfully implemented their standard procedures for such abnormal situations.
“All 33 passengers remained calm through the process and safely disembarked row by row in accordance with post-COVID-19 procedures after the aircraft came to a halt on the Murtala Mohammed International Airport Lagos runway 18 Right. No passenger was hurt in any way.

“Overland Airways salutes the professional interventions of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, and the Accident Investigation Bureau Nigeria (AIB-N) which were very prompt and reassuring.
“Overland Airways regrets any inconvenience to its passengers and assures the traveling public of its full commitment to the safety of its services and passengers.”