ABUJA — Activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has thrown down a high-stakes gauntlet to the Presidency, challenging the administration to provide proof of a single tangible investment attracted by President Bola Tinubu’s relentless international travels.
In a fiery critique delivered on Thursday morning, February 19, 2026, Sowore reignited the heated debate over the President’s health and the mounting fiscal cost of what he termed “expensive medical tourism.” The activist alleged that the primary motivation for many of the President’s recent unannounced trips has been personal health management rather than national economic interest.
The “Investment” Challenge
Sowore’s comments follow a series of “working visits” by the President to Europe and the Middle East, which the Presidency has consistently defended as missions to secure Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
“President Tinubu travels often because he is sick,” Sowore declared in a viral broadcast. “They keep telling us he is looking for investors, but the numbers don’t lie. If you can show me one real investor he has brought to Nigeria since he has been travelling, I will apologize publicly. Until then, these trips are nothing but a drain on the national treasury.”
Pledges vs. Reality
The activist argued that while the administration often touts billions of dollars in “investment pledges,” the actual capital importation data from the Central Bank shows a steady decline in real-time inflows. He questioned why the government continues to prioritize the Presidential Air Fleet’s multi-billion naira maintenance while the domestic economy remains in a tailspin.
“Pledges are not Dollars”—Nigerians React with Scorn
Sowore’s challenge has resonated deeply with a public exhausted by the gap between government “announcements” and the reality of the crashing Naira and surging inflation.
- “The Dubai Syndrome”: “We heard about ₦14 billion in pledges from India and the lifting of visa bans in the UAE, but our factories are still closing,” remarked an Abuja-based economist. “Sowore is right to ask for receipts. You don’t attract investors with frequent flyer miles; you attract them by fixing the security crisis and the power grid.”
- “Transparency is a Right”: Critics on social media blasted the Presidency’s lack of disclosure regarding the President’s health. “If the President is fit, let him stay at home and govern. The constant ‘investment’ cover story for these trips is becoming an insult to our intelligence,” one viral post on X read.
- “Economic Tourism”: Many Nigerians pointed out the irony of the President’s travels while government officials spend ₦66bn on luxury SUVs at home. “They are traveling to find money they are busy wasting on themselves,” another citizen lamented.
Aso Rock’s Strategic Silence
The Presidency has traditionally dismissed Sowore as a “perennial agitator,” but the pressure is mounting. Recent budget defense sessions revealed that while the Ministry of Health received a pittance for hospital upgrades, travel and hospitality for the first family remain high-priority expenditures.
As of midday Thursday, the Ministry of Trade and Investment has not issued a specific list of “actualized” investors to counter Sowore’s 24-hour ultimatum for an apology.
