Tinubu jets out to Paris, London to 'rest', plan transition

The president-elect, Bola Tinubu, has travelled to Paris, France and the United Kingdom to rest and plan the transition programme ahead of his inauguration on 29 May.

Tunde Rahman, the spokesperson for Mr Tinubu, in a statement on Wednesday, said Mr Tinubu left the country on Tuesday.

According to Mr Rahman, the president-elect will also observe the lesser hajj in Saudi Arabia.

“After a very exhaustive campaign and election season, President-elect, Asíwájú Bola Tinubu, has travelled abroad to rest and plan his transition programme ahead of May 29, 2023 inauguration.

“The President-elect left the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja for Europe on Tuesday night.

“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.

“While away, the President-elect will also use the opportunity to plan his transition programme. He is expected back in the country soon,” Mr Rahman said.

Mr Tinubu’s frequent travels overseas continue to fuel speculations on his health status. He made several unannounced trips to the UK and France before the commencement of campaigns in 2022.

In October 2022, he spent 12 days in the UK. At a point, he had to release a short video clip of him walking out to address the speculations on his health.

Aside from the speculations on his health, Mr Tinubu is also facing legal battles over his victory at the 25 February presidential election. Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) have both filed separate cases at the Presidential Election Tribunal against him.