Sowore made this statement on Wednesday in response to the report of President Tinubu’s trip to France, which the presidency described as a two-week "working visit."

Human rights activist and convener of #RevolutionNow Movement, Omoyele Sowore, has alleged that President Bola Tinubu’s trip to France is for medical reasons, not a working visit as claimed by the presidency.

Sowore made this statement on Wednesday in response to the report of President Tinubu’s trip to France, which the presidency described as a two-week "working visit."

Sowore, a former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), criticised the Nigerian government for what he described as a pattern of misinformation, accusing officials of misleading the public about the true purpose of Tinubu’s foreign trips.

SaharaReporters earlier reported that Tinubu’s travel was confirmed in a statement by Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy.

But Sowore said, “Bola Ahmed Tinubu has fled Nigeria again to France, for medical care, although some liars in his office claim he is on a ‘working visit’.

“It is troubling to know that approximately 200 million Nigerians may be repeatedly subjected to misinformation disseminated on a daily basis and they in turn do nothing to liberate themselves.”

Similarly, in February 2024, President Tinubu spent 13 days in Paris, the capital of France. 

A statement issued by his then aide, Ajuri Ngelale, announced the President’s departure from Nigeria on Wednesday, January 24, 2024, for a "private visit."

“President Bola Tinubu departs Abuja for Paris, France, on Wednesday, January 24, 2024, for a private visit. He will return to the country in the first week of February 2024,” Ngelale said in a statement released at the time.

However, sources told SaharaReporters that the trip was actually for medical leave.

“It is a medical leave because the so-called private visit is for the President to see his doctors in France,” a Presidency source had said.

SaharaReporters had previously reported that after the May 29 swearing-in, Tinubu became exhausted and went on bed rest. The outlet also exclusively reported that Tinubu had returned to France to see his doctors weeks before his inauguration on May 29.

“He is returning to France to see his doctors ahead of the stress of the inauguration period so he can prepare for his swearing-in,” a top source in the ruling All Progressives Congress had told the newspaper.

On May 1, 2023, SaharaReporters exclusively reported that Tinubu had visited Lagos for medical rest and to see some of his doctors, who had arrived in the country to provide him with follow-up care. 

It was also learned that some members of the medical team who had treated Tinubu in France were in Lagos to provide the then-president-elect with follow-up treatment, which is ongoing care given to a patient after completing initial treatment for an illness.