Bola Tinubu, the incoming president of Nigeria, has traveled to France and the United Kingdom to “rest” and plan the transition process before his inauguration on May 29.
This has fueled questions among Nigerians and Africans, whether there is no suitable place in the country where he could have this rest.
Some social media users are already making comparisons between him and Cameroon’s president, Paul Biya, who spends most of his time in a luxurious hotel in Switzerland.
The Nigerian president-elect left the country on Tuesday, according to a statement released on Wednesday by Mr. Tinubu’s spokeswoman, Tunde Rahman.
The president-elect, according to Mr. Rahman, would later perform the Hajj in Saudi Arabia.
“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,” Mr. Rahman said.
He continued by saying that Tinubu is anticipated to return “soon.”
The persistent health-related rumours concerning Mr. Tinubu are fueled by his frequent international travel.
Before the 2022 elections, he made multiple unannounced travels to the UK and France.
Nigeria’s outgoing president Muhammadu Buhari, was designated a ‘medical tourist’ because of his frequent official medical trips to the UK. As of August 2021, a year into his second term, Buhari spent about 200 days in London on official medical trips.
Mimi Mefo Info