A month after the Independent National Electoral Commission announced him as winner of the February 25 presidential election, the whereabouts and health condition of the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu continues to generate ripples.
Although the media managers of the President-elect had hinted that his travel overseas was for the purpose of taking a deserved rest from the bruising toll of the campaigns, informed sources within his ruling All Progressives Congress party say that Tinubu’s travel abroad and stories about his failing health condition “are already getting many leaders of the party nervous.”
The apprehension over Tinubu’s health was further heightened when his spokesperson, Tunde Rahman, announced on Monday, “that the president-elect had directed that prayers should be offered across Lagos in celebration of his 71st birthday anniversary.”
Tinubu, who is celebrating his 71st birthday anniversary on Wednesday, had hitherto earmarked lecture series under the auspices of the Bola Tinubu Colloquium in honour of his previous birthday anniversaries.
While no one has been able to put a definite location where the President-elect visited overseas, it becomes even more worrisome, that no optics of his recreation activities has surfaced either online or through his media handlers since he left the country a week ago.
In both the ruling party and the opposition parties, there are growing concerns among political leaders on the prospects of Tinubu being inaugurated as president on May 29 when the incumbent, Muhammadu Buhari is expected to handover to his successor.
While the candidates of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party’s (LP) Peter Obi are currently challenging the declaration of Tinubu as winner of the February 25 presidential election, associates around Tinubu, especially one of his campaign’s media directors, Mr. Festus Keyamo, among others have continued to express worries about “plots to truncate Tinubu’s inauguration and undermine democracy.”
Competent sources say that the development is beginning to brew a cold war between the incoming First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu and the incoming Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima.
“Remi Tinubu no longer trusts Shettima because she believes that he is the one mobilizing marabouts, in the hope that he will be the beneficiary of the tragedy if anything untoward happened to the President-elect,” a source said.
In fact, it was gathered that Tinubu’s wife has flatly refused to open up to anyone in the ruling party about the whereabouts of her husband as she is said to continue to take up hostility with anyone who makes inquiry to her on the topic.
The deafening silence from Tinubu’s immediate family, especially the hostile demeanor from his wife about the President-elect’s whereabouts and health condition is already causing nostalgia within the circle of political associates of the situation when former President, Umaru Yar’Adua was ill and the then First Lady, Turai Yar’Adua kept everyone out of the picture.
In fact, it was learnt that the incumbent Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, known to be a close associate of Tinubu “was barred from seeing him because of the state he (Tinubu) was in, last week, necessitating the overseas trip.”