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 position that the President is abroad on a working vacation.
Sowore made the allegation on Monday during an interview on Arise TV’s Prime Time, while discussing Tinubu’s prolonged stay in Europe and his decision not to attend the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
When asked about the basis for his claim that the President was hospitalised, Sowore said his information came from sources he considered reliable, while acknowledging that he did not know the specific medical condition involved.
“Well, it’s not what I’ve been told. It’s what I found out,” Sowore said.
The AAC candidate said he had spent the previous two weeks in the United States and had been following developments surrounding the UN General Assembly, while also making inquiries about Tinubu’s whereabouts.
“There’s something I don’t want to disclose publicly here,” he said, before adding that “some of those reliable sources said that Tinubu has been undergoing treatment.”
Sowore said he did not have details about the alleged condition.
“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.
He further questioned the President’s occasional public appearances, alleging that they were intended to give Nigerians the impression that Tinubu was continuing his normal official activities.
“What you see, those apparitional appearances once in a while, where he’s meeting with people is designed exactly to fool the public down here,” Sowore alleged.
However, no publicly verifiable medical evidence was presented during the interview to substantiate the claim that Tinubu is hospitalised or undergoing treatment in France.
The allegation comes amid renewed attention over Tinubu’s extended stay outside Nigeria.
The President left Nigeria on August 30 for what was initially announced as a three-week working vacation. He travelled first to London before moving to Paris, where the Presidency said he held meetings and continued to attend to official matters.
The Presidency later announced that the working vacation had been extended by a few days. (State House Abuja)
Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has rejected concerns about the President’s health, saying Tinubu is “hale and hearty” and has continued working while abroad.
Onanuga also said the President had held meetings with investors in France and was expected to return to Nigeria during the week for activities marking the country’s 66th Independence Anniversary.
Tinubu’s absence from the UN General Assembly has also attracted political criticism, with Vice President Kashim Shettima representing Nigeria at the gathering in New York.
The Presidency has maintained that Tinubu remains in contact with officials at home and continues to direct government affairs while away from the country.
As of the latest public statements, Sowore’s claim about medical treatment remains an allegation that has not been independently substantiated, while the Presidency continues to maintain that Tinubu is well and on a working vacation.
