'Why I visited Tinubu in London' - Sanwo-Olu

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has said the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is “hale and hearty” in London, the United Kingdom.

The governor, who spoke to journalists on Wednesday in Lagos, said he made the trip and shared the photos with the APC leader to dispel the rumours about his ill-health.

“Yes, indeed, I am the one you saw in the picture that I took when I visited our leader in London just to dispel all of the rumours that were flying around that he was sick and hospitalised,” Mr Sanwo-Olu said, according to a statement by his chief press secretary, Gboyega Akosile.

According to the statement, the governor spoke to the journalists a few hours after his return from London.

Speculations about Mr Tinubu’s health reached a fever pitch last weekend after his conspicuous absence at the party’s ward congress in Lagos. The former Lagos governor was also missing during the local government elections in the state penultimate Saturday.

Last Saturday, Tunde Rahman, Mr Tinubu’s media aide, issued a statement maintaining that his principal was not in a hospital abroad or had any “medical problem that would require hospitalisation.”

On Tuesday, photos of Governor Sanwo-Olu and Mr Tinubu in London were circulated on social media by persons loyal to the APC as part of efforts to allay fears of the APC leader’s infirmity.

“You saw him (Tinubu). He is well, he is healthy and we conversed. We talked about what is happening in our party, what is happening in the nation and just to say to him that all is well,” Mr Sanwo-Olu continued.

“I went to see things for myself. It is just to put the mind and heart of people to rest that there is nothing for us to worry about,” the governor disclosed.

When asked when Mr Tinubu would likely return to Nigeria, Governor Sanwo-Olu said only the APC leader could answer that.

“A man has discretion as to decide when to go out of the country and when to return. It is his call. Is he coming here to do Governor’s work? Can’t you see the picture we took together? The picture doesn’t lie,” he said.