There has been growing concerns about the absence of a former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu from the political scene with rumours of ill-health trailing him.
Several political figures in the All Progressives Congress (APC) told SaharaReporters that there were serious apprehensions about former Governor Ahmed Bola Tinubu of Lagos State who has not been seen in public for several weeks.
Some of the politicians wondered whether the former governor had taken ill, noting that there were political challenges in the party’s south-west zone that they expected Mr. Tinubu to be on ground addressing.
In the wake of their concerns, a source close to Mr. Tinubu told a correspondent that the former governor left Nigeria two weeks ago and flew to the United Kingdom for personal reasons. The source added that Mr. Tinubu was supposed to have returned a week later, but his whereabouts remain unknown to party apparatchiks.
The APC leader’s aides did not initially return a correspondent’s phone calls and ignored text messages inquiring about his whereabouts and requesting to interview him.
However, in a short text to correspondent just before we went to press, Mr. Tinubu dismissed concerns about his health, stating that he was abroad on vacation and to attend to some long neglected personal affairs.
Several APC politicians who spoke to a correspondent said their concerns grew when Mr. Tinubu, a former senator who serves as the national leader of the APC, became noticeably absent during yesterday’s visit to Osun State by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Mr. Tinubu had issued a statement yesterday assuring the people of Ondo State that the APC was prepared to win the forthcoming governorship election in the state, but there were unanswered questions about the politician’s location.
Mr. Tinubu’s text message said he was “very well,” adding, “I may be returning today.” According to him, he was spending part of his summer holiday and “taking care of previous neglected personal affairs.”
Before going to press the APC National Leader’s aides said he has arrived Lagos from the UK.
