President Bola Tinubu has mocked detractors who spread rumours that he went on a working vacation in Europe because he was sick and needed treatment.

Tinubu left the country on August 20, and his first stop was London before moving to Paris, where he met with French President Emmanuel Macron.

However, presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore believed Tinubu's trip to Europe was to get medication.

He also stated: "We’ve been here before: Nigeria is repeatedly used as health insurance for sickly and worn-out presidents, who are then packaged and presented to the public in stages airport ceremonies while the same failed performances are repeated and the country is further destroyed. The same actors during the Umaru Yar’Adua and Muhammadu Buhari administrations and now Tinubu
@officialABAT. No shame, no regrets and they want you to move on as though nothing is wrong."

His claim was heightened when the Presidency announced that Tinubu would extend his stay in Paris before returning to Nigeria.

Paul Ibe, an aide to presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, also latched onto the belief that Tinubu may be sick and receiving treatment in France.

He added, "The latest defence of President Bola Tinubu’s prolonged stay in France raises more questions than answers. The issue is not whether he is 'hale and hearty,' but why he remains abroad beyond the three-week vacation announced by the Presidency on August 30."

Presidential candidate Peter Obi also took a subtle jab at Tinubu over his absence from the United Nations General Assembly, where Vice President Kashim Shettima represented him.

He said, "Nigeria’s President, who ought to be representing the country and providing leadership for Africa at the international level, has not attended any of these three global gatherings. Where is he, particularly at a time when the country faces significant challenges, both domestically and internationally?"

Opposition politicians made all kinds of conjecture about Tinubu's prolonged stay in France, despite the Presidency already announcing a return date after the earlier scheduled date was shifted.

Arriving in Lagos on Tuesday, Tinubu replied to his detractors with a post on X.

He said, "Rumours will always emanate from politics. The fact remains that I am here, ready to work, and ready to go. God bless Nigeria!"

ASA