At a recent engagement with members of the Nigerian community in France, President Bola Tinubu claimed he worked odd jobs to survive during his days in America.

Mr Tinubu was speaking to encourage the Nigerians in diaspora on the sidelines of the recently concluded economic summit in Paris.

“It is clear to me, I know the road and I’ve been through what many of you have been through outside the country,” said Mr Tinubu. “I’ve been in America, in the UK, I have been a night guard, security, a door man in America. But I have achieved my aim.”

Mr Tinubu sojourned in the U.S. in the ’70s through ’80s, studying and later earning a job with multinational oil company Mobil as an accountant.

His massive wealth down the line has been a subject of controversy with allegations around illicit acquisition of wealth through cocaine dealing and pilfering public resources since his time as Lagos governor.

A U.S. district court last year released the certified true copy of a judgement wherein Mr Tinubu forfeited $460,000 believed to be linked to narcotics trafficking and money laundering.

In a BBC interview during his campaigns, Mr Tinubu attributed his wealth to real estate inheritance from his parents which he over the years turned over to make more fortune.