Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buharihas denied claims that he had died and was replaced by a Sudanese impostor, breaking his silence on a rumour that has circulated on social media for months.

Axar.az reports citing Interfax.

“It’s the real me, I assure you. I will soon celebrate my 76th birthday and I will still go strong,” Buhari told Nigerians in a town hall session in Poland on Sunday, where he was attending a conference, when asked about Jubril.

“A lot of people hoped that I died during my ill health. Some even reached out to the Vice President to consider them to be his deputy because they assumed I was dead. That embarrassed him a lot and of course, he visited me when I was in London convalescing,’’ he said, adding that those who spread the rumour were “ignorant and irreligious”.

Notably, in 2017, Buhari underwent a five-month course of treatment in the UK. Details of his health problems were not reported.