President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will return to Nigeria on Tuesday, September 29, after about four weeks in Europe, the Presidency confirmed on Sunday night, dismissing concerns about his prolonged absence and declaring that he is ‘hale and hearty’.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, confirmed the revised return date to The Nation on Sunday evening, explaining that the two-day shift from the earlier weekend schedule was only a ‘slight adjustment’ to the President’s itinerary.
The revised schedule has also been independently reported.
‘Yes, it’s true, he will return on Tuesday. It’s just a slight adjustment to his schedule, so when he’s returning, he’ll be returning to Lagos where he will observe the Independence Day ceremony.
‘He will also join other dignitaries to watch the premiere of the documentary on June (MKO), which will show on October 1 at the National Theatre, Lagos, before returning to Abuja’, Onanuga told The Nation
Hours later, Onanuga reinforced the clarification in a post on his verified X handle, @aonanuga1956, amid questions raised by former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi over Tinubu’s whereabouts and his absence from the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
‘President Tinubu is hale and hearty.
‘Nigeria’s President is hale and hearty. He has been on a working vacation, which he is perfectly entitled to. In this digital age, he does not need to be physically present in Abuja to do the work for which he was elected in 2023’, Onanuga said.
Onanuga said Tinubu had continued to work during his stay in Europe, pointing to his investment engagements in France and the recent agreements for the proposed Gateway Deep Seaport and Blue Marine Special Economic Zone in Ogun State.
‘And we have seen that he has indeed been working, meeting investors in France, most recently facilitating a $7 billion deep-sea port in Ogun Waterside, an initiative of the Ogun State Government’, he said.
The clarification followed questions by Obi about Tinubu’s whereabouts and absence from the UN General Assembly, where Vice President Kashim Shettima represented Nigeria and delivered the country’s national statement.
Onanuga, however, argued that Tinubu was not the only prominent African leader absent from the gathering, citing South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
‘Two other important African leaders were not in New York for the UNGA: South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa and Egypt’s Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’, he said, adding that Tinubu had publicly announced his annual vacation and delegated the UN assignment to Shettima.
Turning to Obi, Onanuga said ‘yet Peter Obi pretends to be unaware of President Tinubu’s whereabouts and asks the puerile question his followers are asking on X’.
Tinubu departed Abuja on August 30 for London to begin what the Presidency announced as a working vacation forming part of his annual leave.
After spending about a week in London, he moved to Paris, France.
The Presidency subsequently announced on September 21 that the vacation had been extended by a few days and that he was expected back in Nigeria at the weekend.
The President held meetings during the European trip, including engagements with French President Emmanuel Macron and businessman Vincent Bolloré.
The State House also said Tinubu remained in contact with officials at home and continued directing government affairs while abroad, including ordering an independent investigation into the deaths of suspected illegal miners following their detention in Minna, Niger State.
Shettima represented the President at several official engagements before travelling to New York to lead Nigeria’s delegation to the 81st UN General Assembly, while Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, represented Tinubu at some domestic events.
With the earlier weekend return no longer holding, Onanuga said the President would now arrive in Lagos on Tuesday and remain there for activities marking Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary on Thursday, October 1.
Tinubu is also scheduled to attend the national premiere of MKO, a documentary on the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola and the June 12, 1993 presidential election struggle.
The documentary is scheduled to premiere on October 1 before opening in cinemas nationwide the following day.
‘President Tinubu will return home this week to mark Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary and honour MKO Abiola, the martyr of the democracy we enjoy today, by attending the premiere of a movie in MKO’s memory in Lagos’, Onanuga said.
The President is expected to return to Abuja after completing his Independence anniversary engagements in Lagos.