BREAKING: Presidency Denies Claims of President Tinubu’s Critical Illness

The Presidency has strongly refuted reports alleging that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is critically ill and planning to travel abroad for urgent medical treatment.

The denial follows a publication by the Nigerian Institute for Investigative Journalism (NIIJ) last week, which, citing unnamed sources, claimed the President’s medical team was preparing for an emergency evacuation. The report further alleged that Tinubu had been bedridden, prompting Vice President Kashim Shettima to handle official engagements and leading to the cancellation of several presidential activities.

Speaking in an interview with BBC Hausa on Monday, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Print Media, AbdulAziz AbdulAziz, dismissed the claims as baseless.

Speculation over the President’s health intensified after his absence from the August 3 ceremony honouring Nigeria’s women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, where Vice President Shettima stood in for him. Tinubu’s most recent public appearance was on August 1 at the opening of the Summit on Journalism for National Development.

Earlier, the President had hosted a reception for the Super Falcons following their Women’s Africa Cup of Nations victory in Morocco.

The Presidency maintains that President Tinubu remains fully engaged in his official duties, describing the health rumours as unfounded and politically driven.