There are reports in circulation that the president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has jetted out to France unannounced, purportedly on medical tourism.
A hint on this was dropped last night by a UK-based online publication, Schenge Story Media, and sighted by The Frontier.
The publication’s headline stated, “Nigeria’s ‘President-elect’ Tinubu Returns To France For Medical Care In Preparation For May 29 Swearing-In”.
Close sources who spoke to The Frontier on condition of anonymity claimed the former Lagos State governor would have been exhausted as he attended to numerous interest groups and individuals who had visited him immediately he returned to the country on April 24 from an over one month “bed rest” in the European country.
Another source said the chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, must have been exhausted as a result of proceedings on Monday at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, being the first day of pre-hearing of the petition brought against his victory by Mr Peter Obi of the Labour Party, LP, and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP. Though, he was represented at the tribunal.
Efforts made by The Frontier to confirm the present location of the president-elect were not successful as at the time of going to press.
A call put across to his wife, Senator Remi Tinubu last night and another call this morning rang out each time.
Also, Tinubu’s spokesman, Mr Tunde Rahman, when called this morning, said he was in a meeting and would call back but he never did as at press time.
The Frontier reports that Tinubu returned to Nigeria on Monday April 24, 2023 after a four-week vacation in France. He arrived at the/ Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, at about 4:15 p.m.
He was received at the airport by his running mate, Kashim Shettima, and some other party faithful.
Tinubu left Nigeria on March 21. His handlers later said he would be in France, the UK and Saudi Arabia for the lesser hajj.
“The president-elect decided to take a break after the hectic campaign and election season to rest in Paris and London, preparatory to going to Saudi Arabia for Umrah (Lesser Hajj) and the Ramadan Fasting that begins Thursday,” spokesperson Tunde Rahman had said in a statement.
His frequent travels overseas continue to fuel speculations on his health status. He made several trips to the UK and France before the commencement of campaigns in 2022.
In October 2022, he spent 12 days in the UK. At a point, he had to release a short video clip of him walking out to address the speculations on his health.
He and his team have, however, said he is healthy enough to be president.
