However, sources told SaharaReporters that the trip was for medical leave.
President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday departed Abuja for France, a trip the State House described as a “private visit”.
However, sources told SaharaReporters that the trip was for medical leave.
“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,” Chief Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, said in a statement released on Wednesday.
“It is a medical leave because the so-called private visit is for the President to see his doctors in France,” a Presidency source said.
SaharaReporters months ago reported how Tinubu, after the May 29 swearing-in became exhausted and went on a bed rest.
SaharaReporters had also exclusively reported that Tinubu 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, SaharaReporters exclusively reported that Tinubu visited Lagos to take a medical rest and see some of his doctors who had arrived in the country to give him follow-up medical care.
It was learnt that some members of the medical team who treated Tinubu in France were in Lagos, Southwest Nigeria to give the then-President-elect follow-up treatment, which is the care given to a patient over time after finishing treatment for a disease.
This involves monitoring a person's health over time after treatment.
Tinubu had earlier returned to Abuja, Nigeria's Federal Capital Territory after weeks of medical treatment in France.
Although his media aide, Bayo Onanuga insisted he was on vacation in France, SaharaReporters had exclusively reported that Tinubu fell ill after the March 18 governorship and State Assembly elections and was flown to France for medical treatment.
However, despite the denials, SaharaReporters also reported that Tinubu’s ailment was so severe that for five days while being hospitalised abroad, he could not speak and had to be intubated.
Intubation is a procedure required to help save a life when the patient cannot breathe.
It is a process where a healthcare provider inserts a tube through a patient’s mouth or nose, then down into their trachea (airway/windpipe). The tube keeps the trachea open so that air can get through. The tube can connect to a machine that delivers air or oxygen.
According to Cleveland Clinic, common conditions that lead to intubation include airway obstruction (something caught in the airway, blocking the flow of air); cardiac arrest (sudden loss of heart function); injury or trauma to your neck, abdomen or chest that affects the airway; loss of consciousness or a low level of consciousness, which can make a person lose control of the airway.
Others include the need for surgery that will make you unable to breathe on your own; respiratory (breathing) failure or apnea (a temporary stop in breathing) and risk for aspiration (breathing in an object or substance such as food, vomit or blood).
SaharaReporters also reported that Tinubu’s tongue was reportedly sticking out during the time his condition was severe.
“Tinubu’s ailment and health were in shambles before he left Nigeria to undertake treatment in a French hospital,” a source had said.
“The sickness was so severe that for five days during his hospitalisation, he could not speak and had to be intubated,” another source had said.
“His tongue was reportedly sticking out,” one of the sources had added.
While addressing journalists shortly after his return, it was also noticed that Tinubu had a suspected peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC line) attached to his upper arm.
Pictures of him with the 'medical device' went viral on social media platforms.
According to medical experts, PICC is used to deliver medications and other treatments directly to the large central veins near your heart.