He is also to use the trip to undertake a spiritual exercise in Saudi Arabia, where he is billed to observe Umrah, the lesser Hajj and Ramadan.

A statement by his media aide, Tunde Rahman in Abuja on Wednesday said Tinubu “left the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja for Europe Tuesday night after the exhaustive campaign and election season.”

The terse statement reads: “The President-elect decided to take a break after the hectic campaign and election season to rest in Paris and London, preparatory to going to Saudi Arabia for Umrah (Lesser Hajj) and the Ramadan Fasting that begins Thursday.

But in the statement, Rahman debunked the report and “enjoin the media to stop publishing rumours and unsubstantiated claims and to always seek clarifications from our office.”