Acting President Yemi Osinbajo says President Muhammadu Buhari is recuperating very quickly and will return to the country “sooner than you expect”.

Osinbajo made this known to State House correspondents shortly before heading in to preside over the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.

He said he had been speaking with Buhari over the phone but needed to visit him in person to brief him on happenings in the country.

Although he said he and the President discussed “wide-ranging issues”, he said they didn’t touch the swearing in of the two newly-appointed ministers from Gombe and Kogi States.

“As you know I went to see him to check up on him, find out how he was doing,” Osinbajo said.

“I had, of course, been speaking with him on the phone, and I thought it would be a good thing to go and see him and check up on how he is doing and also to brief him on developments back home.

“So we had a very good time, we had a very good conversation on wide-ranging issues and he is in very good spirits; he is recuperating very quickly and he is doing very well.

“We spoke for well over and hour, and his humour is all there and he is doing well.”

On when the President could return, Osinbajo said: “I think very very soon, very soon. I think we should be really expecting him back very soon. Like I said he is recuperating very fast.”

Asked what specifically their discussion centred on, he said: “Wide-ranging issues, wide-ranging issues, I really can’t go into specifics of all that we discussed.

“We didn’t discuss swearing in (of newly appointed ministers) or anything… I am not in a position to say exactly … but I’m sure we will do that very very soon.”

On whether the President could be back before the 90th day of his travel, Osinbajo said: “No no, deadlines aren’t a very good thing, but he is, as I said, recuperating fast, and we expect him very shortly, much sooner than you would expect.”