African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has alleged that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is receiving medical treatment in France, contradicting the Presidency’s explanation that the President is currently on a working vacation.
Sowore made the claim during an interview on Arise TV’s Prime Time on Monday while speaking about Tinubu’s prolonged stay outside Nigeria and his absence from the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The AAC candidate was asked to provide evidence for his allegation that the President was hospitalised. In response, Sowore said his information was based on what he described as reliable sources, although he admitted that he did not know the nature of the alleged medical condition.
According to him, his conclusion was based on information he gathered while spending the previous two weeks in the United States, where he said he monitored activities surrounding the UN General Assembly and made inquiries about the President’s whereabouts.
“There’s something I don’t want to disclose publicly here,” Sowore said, adding that some of his sources had told him that Tinubu had been undergoing treatment.
However, he acknowledged that he had no specific information about the alleged illness or the type of treatment the President was receiving.
“I don’t know what ailment it is because we don’t have those details, and that is why they have not discharged him from the hospital,” he said.
Sowore also alleged that Tinubu’s occasional public engagements while abroad were intended to give Nigerians the impression that the President was continuing with his official duties.
He claimed that the President’s appearances at intervals were designed to convince the public that he remained actively engaged in government business.
The allegation comes amid renewed public attention over Tinubu’s extended stay in Europe and his decision not to attend the UN General Assembly in New York.
President Tinubu left Nigeria on August 30 for what the Presidency initially described as a three-week annual vacation. He travelled first to London before proceeding to Paris, France.
The Presidency later announced that the President’s stay abroad had been extended by a few days, describing the trip as a working vacation.
Government officials have repeatedly dismissed concerns about the President’s health.
The President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said on Sunday that Tinubu was “hale and hearty” and expected to return to Nigeria during the week.
Onanuga also said the President had continued to perform his official responsibilities while abroad, including meetings and engagements with investors in France.
Tinubu’s absence from the UN General Assembly also led to Vice President Kashim Shettima representing Nigeria at the gathering in New York.
As of the time of the report, the Presidency had not publicly confirmed Sowore’s allegation that Tinubu was undergoing medical treatment in France.
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