Dada Olusegun, a media aide to President Bola Tinubu, has blamed Nigerian media outlets for exposing a photo of the president sleeping during the 37th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU). 

Mr Olusegun, in a post on X, said Mr Tinubu, who was captured sleeping at the event in Addis Ababa, gave the “most inspiring” speech.

For Mr Olusegun, “Mr President had such a great outing and gave one of, if not the most inspiring speech at the AU summit.”

Mr Tinubu “spoke about the proposed African Central Bank expected to kick off by 2028. Spoke about the importance of unity and a new approach to governance across the continent,” he stated. 

The presidential aide, who did not admit whether or not the president slept at the event, criticised the media for exposing the photo.

Mr Olusegun said outlets chose to push a photo that shields young Nigerians from the issues the president spoke about at the AU session. 

“Guess what the media back home decided to push?” Mr Olusegun asked, adding that “the ones I pity the most in all of these are their young audiences who miss out on important developments because those they listen to continue to shield them from what they need to know at the expense of what will trend.”

A photo of Mr Tinubu sleeping during the ordinary session on Saturday while his aide-de-camp, Colonel Nurudeen Alowonle Yusuf, took notes closely behind him emerged on the internet, eliciting reactions from Nigerians.

Prior to the presidential election in 2023, Mr Tinubu was also captured sleeping during public events on different occasions, generating concerns about his health status and capability to rule the nation.