‘Tinubu undergoing treatment in France’ - Sowore

African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has alleged that President Bola Tinubu is undergoing medical treatment in France, contrary to the Presidency’s position that the President is on a working vacation.

Sowore made the claim during an interview on Arise TV’s Prime Time on Monday while discussing Tinubu’s prolonged stay in Europe and his absence from the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Asked to provide evidence for his claim that Tinubu is currently hospitalised, Sowore said his information came from sources he considered reliable, but acknowledged that he did not know the nature of the alleged ailment.

“Well, it’s not what I’ve been told. It’s what I found out,” Sowore said.

He said he had spent the previous two weeks in the United States and had been monitoring developments around the UN General Assembly, adding that he had also spoken to sources about the President’s whereabouts.

“There’s something I don’t want to disclose publicly here,” he said, adding that “some of those reliable sources said that Tinubu has been undergoing treatment.”

Sowore, however, said he did not have details of 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 also alleged that Tinubu’s occasional public appearances were intended to create the impression that he was carrying out his normal duties.

“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.

The claim comes amid renewed attention over Tinubu’s extended stay abroad.

The President left Nigeria on August 30 for what the Presidency initially described as a three-week annual vacation, travelling first to London before proceeding to Paris, France.

The Presidency subsequently said the working vacation had been extended by a few days.

The Presidency has consistently rejected concerns over Tinubu’s health, with his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, saying on Sunday that the President was “hale and hearty” and would return to Nigeria during the week.

Onanuga said Tinubu had continued to discharge his official responsibilities while abroad, including engagements with investors in France.

Vice President Kashim Shettima represented Nigeria at the UN General Assembly in New York, after the Presidency announced that Tinubu would not attend the gathering in person.