The silence of Nigeria’s presidency regarding President Bola Tinubu’s unofficial trip to France has reignited debates over concerns and the secrecy surrounding the president’s state of health.
Our reporters exclusively reported Tinubu’s unannounced journey to Paris, France on Thursday, confirming that it was for medical reasons.
Sources revealed that Tinubu arrived in Paris aboard a Nigerian presidential aircraft, a Gulfstream Aerospace GV-SP (G550), with registration number 5N-FGW, and serial number 5310 (Mode-S 0640F2), landing at Paris Airport-Le Bourget around 04:00 pm on Thursday from an airport in London.
The President had departed Saudi Arabia on Tuesday morning after attending the World Economic Forum there, heading to London.
While a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, mentioned Tinubu’s attendance at the special WEF meeting in Riyadh, it omitted details about his return to Nigeria or his subsequent visits to the UK and France.
Furthermore, the Presidency has remained silent on Tinubu’s whereabouts since the conclusion of the international summit on Monday, April 29.
Efforts to reach Mr. Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information & Strategy, for comments and clarification were unsuccessful as he did not respond to calls or messages from our reporters.
However, it was learned that the 5N-FGW (Gulfstream Aerospace), operated as Nigerian Air Force 1, departed Riyadh International Airport on Tuesday, April 30 at 12:05 am (02:05 am Saudi Arabian time) and landed at Stansted Airport, London at 06:35 am, UK time.