The ruling All Progressives Congress says claims that President Bola Tinubu’s private visit to the United Kingdom on Saturday was to seek medical attention for his frail health.
Tinubu, who was initially scheduled to return to Abuja after the Paris summit in France, proceeded to London for a short private visit, according to a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Special Duties, Communication and Strategy, Dele Alake.
His last-minute change of itinerary, however, had people whipping up conjectures, especially on social media, with trolls and critics insinuating that the former Lagos governor probably used the trip as a decoy to visit his doctors.
Reacting to the insinuations, Director of Publicity for the APC, Bala Ibrahim, debunked the claim, saying they are unfounded.
Ibrahim asserted that Tinubu has shown throughout his exerting electioneering campaign and post-inauguration activities that he was physically and mentally prepared for the task.
“Why is it that every time the president travels, people will speculate that he went for treatment? Yet, not once did any of these speculations come to pass. Everything they speculated against the president didn’t materialise. For God’s sake, why can’t they jettison this mentality of ‘the man is sick?’ When you investigate, you will discover those making these silly statements are not doctors. Some are even mechanics. Who is healthy? They should even look at what nature is doing. About three of the speculators have died while the man is moving.
“People should, therefore, stop challenging God. Nobody is 100 per cent healthy and the man himself has said he is contesting to be president, not the kick-boxer of Nigeria. He is doing his job as the Constitution requires. We all saw how he stood on the podium for hours during his inauguration. He took the salute, oath of office and allegiance, and even inspected the guard of honour. I think we should cut the man some slack,” he told Punch in an interview.