The Presidency has said President Bola Tinubu is expected to return to Nigeria this week after spending his annual leave abroad.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed this while responding to concerns over the President’s whereabouts.
Onanuga said Tinubu was “hale and hearty” and had been on a working vacation, during which he continued to attend to official matters despite being outside Abuja.
“President Tinubu is hale and hearty. He has been on a working vacation, which he is perfectly entitled to,” Onanuga wrote in a social media post.
According to the presidential aide, Tinubu had remained engaged in government-related activities during his stay abroad, including meetings with investors in France.
Onanuga also said the President recently facilitated a $7 billion deep-sea port project in Ogun Waterside, an initiative of the Ogun State Government.
He further noted that Tinubu was not the only African leader who was absent from the ongoing United Nations General Assembly in New York.
“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.
The presidential aide explained that Tinubu had earlier announced his annual vacation and delegated Nigeria’s representation at the UN General Assembly to Vice-President Kashim Shettima.
Onanuga also took aim at former Anambra State governor and Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, over his comments about Tinubu’s whereabouts.
“Yet Peter Obi pretends to be unaware of President Tinubu’s whereabouts and asks the puerile question his followers are asking on X,” he wrote.
According to Onanuga, Tinubu is expected back in Nigeria during the week to take part in activities marking the country’s 66th Independence Anniversary.
He added that the President would also attend the Lagos premiere of a film on the late businessman and democracy campaigner, MKO Abiola, as part of activities honouring his legacy.
