National Leader of All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has travelled out of the country to the United Kingdom weeks after indicating interest to succeed President Mhammadu Buhari in 2023.
This comes as Tunde Rahman, spokesperson of the Lagos former governor insists that he did not travel for any sicknesses or to take some rest but for continuation of his consultations ahead of the election.
In a text response on Friday, Rahman said the APC stalwart would return to Nigeria next week.
He said, “Asiwaju’s trip to the UK (United Kingdom) is not to rest or because of any illness.
“While abroad, Asiwaju is maintaining a vigorous schedule of meetings and consultations on a range of important matters.
“Whether at home or abroad, the daily schedule of Asiwaju is vibrant and full. Most people couldn’t sustain his high level of activity. This speaks to his exceptional intellectual energy and his commitment to achievement.”
“Asiwaju will return to Nigeria next week once this set of meetings and talks abroad is completed,” he added.
Meanwhile, a member of the Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu Movement’s Working Committees told our correspondent that the APC leader travelled overseas to rest and strategise.
The source, who pleaded anonymity, said, “He (Tinubu) travelled abroad to rest after going around the country for consultations.”
Efforts to get the comments of the Director-General of the Tinubu Support Group, Abdulmumin Jibrin, proved abortive as of press time.
Tinubu had on January 10, visited President Muhammadu Buhari where he announced to State House correspondents that he had informed the President of his intention to contest the presidential election in 2023.
Tinubu has since travelled to some parts of the country including Oyo, Niger, and Zamfara states to widen consultations for his political ambition.
He was, however absent on Thursday during the formal inauguration of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu Movement’s Working Committees in Ikeja GRA, Lagos.
The movement was conceived and set up by members of Governor’s Advisory Council in Lagos for the actualisation of the presidential ambition of the politician, and launched by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Tinubu, who celebrated his 69th birthday in March 2021, was away for over three months in 2021. He had been in the United Kingdom where he underwent surgery and therapy for a knee injury.
The health condition of the APC leader has since become a subject of controversy but many of his staunch supporters have argued that Tinubu is fit to become Nigeria’s President, adding that he is not older than the current President of the United States, Joe Biden, 79; and his predecessor, Donald Trump, 75.