Presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has alleged that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is receiving medical treatment in France rather than being on the working vacation announced by the Presidency.
Sowore made the allegation in a statement while reacting to Tinubu’s decision not to attend the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York. His claim has not been independently established. The Presidency has maintained that Tinubu is on a working vacation in Europe and announced on Monday that he would return to Nigeria at the weekend.
“There is something inherently wrong with Nigeria,” Sowore said, before questioning the circumstances surrounding Tinubu’s stay in Paris and his absence from the UNGA.
He also alleged that Tinubu’s decision not to travel to the United States was linked to concerns that the US government could arrest him over what Sowore described as a past drug-related case.
The AAC presidential candidate said the situation was being accepted by supporters of the administration and other Nigerians.
“Every sycophant is playing along, and society has acquiesced completely,” he said.
Sowore then directly disputed the Presidency’s account of Tinubu’s trip, alleging that the President was receiving treatment in France.
“Tinubu is not on vacation; he is receiving treatment in France, and they will package him to return as though nothing happened,” he said.
He compared the situation to the circumstances surrounding the administrations of former Presidents Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Muhammadu Buhari, alleging that similar patterns of secrecy had occurred in the past.
“We have seen this script before with Yar’Adua and Buhari: secrecy, deception, carefully managed appearances, and a country expected to look away,” Sowore said.
The Presidency had announced that Tinubu departed Nigeria on August 30 for London to begin his working vacation before proceeding to Paris, where he held meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron and businessman Vincent Bolloré. On September 18, the State House said Tinubu met Bolloré in Paris to discuss investments in Nigeria’s creative and digital economy.
Vice President Kashim Shettima is representing Tinubu at the UNGA in New York and is expected to present Nigeria’s national statement. The Presidency has also said Tinubu’s working vacation was extended by a few days, with his return now expected at the weekend.
Sowore concluded by calling for what he described as the liberation of Nigeria from the political practices he criticised in his statement.
“Nigeria must be liberated not only from these machinations but from the mentality that sustains them,” he said.
