Omoyele Sowore, human rights activist and leader of the #RevolutionNow Movement, has accused President Bola Tinubu of traveling to France for medical reasons rather than for the "working visit" described by the presidency. Sowore expressed this opinion on Wednesday, following the announcement from the presidential office regarding Tinubu's two-week trip to France.
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He criticized the Nigerian government for what he sees as a pattern of misinformation and alleged that officials are misleading the public about the actual purpose of Tinubu's international travels.
SaharaReporters reported that Tinubu's travel was confirmed by Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy. However, Sowore contended, "Bola Ahmed Tinubu has once again fled Nigeria to France for medical care, despite claims from his office that he is on a 'working visit.'" "It is concerning that nearly 200 million Nigerians may regularly receive false information and yet do little to seek their own liberation," he added. In a previous instance in February 2024, President Tinubu spent 13 days in Paris. A statement from his aide, Ajuri Ngelale, noted his departure for a "private visit" on January 24, 2024. Ngelale mentioned that the President would return in the first week of February. However, sources informed SaharaReporters that this trip was actually a medical leave. An insider from the presidency stated, "It is indeed a medical leave, as this so-called private visit was for the President to consult his doctors in France." Earlier reports indicated that after his inauguration on May 29, Tinubu experienced exhaustion and needed bed rest. It was also disclosed that he had returned to France for medical consultations just weeks before taking office.
A senior member of the ruling All Progressives Congress revealed that the purpose of the trip was to allow Tinubu to visit his doctors in advance of the stresses of the inauguration period. On May 1, 2023, SaharaReporters had reported that Tinubu traveled to Lagos for medical rest and to meet some of his doctors, who had come to Nigeria to provide follow-up care.
It was reported that several members of the medical team who had treated him in France were in Lagos to administer ongoing treatments following his initial care for a health issue.
Edited