Presidency tries to assuage concerns as Tinubu fails to return as announced

The presidency has dismissed concerns about President Bola Tinubu’s prolonged absence from Nigeria, saying he is “hale and hearty” and will return to the country this week.

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The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said Mr Tinubu had been on a working vacation and continued to perform his official duties from abroad.

“President Tinubu is hale and hearty. He has been on a working vacation, which he is perfectly entitled to,” Mr Onanuga said in a statement on Sunday.

The statement came after growing criticism of the president’s absence from Nigeria, including his decision not to attend the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Mr Tinubu left Nigeria on 30 August for London to begin a three-week annual leave, which the presidency later described as a working vacation. He later travelled to Paris, France, where he met French President Emmanuel Macron and French businessman Vincent Bolloré.

On 21 September, the presidency announced that Mr Tinubu had extended his stay abroad by a few days and would return to Nigeria at the weekend.

While in France, Mr Tinubu attended the signing of agreements between the Ogun State Government and DP World for the development of the Gateway Deep Sea Port and the Ogun State Blue Marine Special Economic Zone.

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The projects are expected to attract more than $7 billion in initial investment and create over 50,000 direct jobs, according to the Ogun State Government.

The proposed deep seaport at Ogun Waterside is expected to have a four-kilometre berth and an 18-metre draft. The project is intended to ease pressure on the Lagos port corridor and improve Nigeria’s capacity for maritime trade and exports.

Mr Onanuga argued that Mr Tinubu’s physical absence from Abuja had not prevented him from discharging his responsibilities.

“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,” he said.

The president’s absence from the UNGA, however, has continued to attract criticism from opposition politicians.

Peter Obi, the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, on Sunday questioned Mr Tinubu’s whereabouts and criticised his absence from the global gathering.

“Where is Nigeria’s President?” Mr Obi asked in a post on X.

Mr Obi said Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama’s address to the 81st UN General Assembly demonstrated the importance of presidential representation at the gathering.

He questioned why the president of Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, had been absent from the UNGA for three consecutive years.

“Although our Vice President, Kashim Shettima, was present, the question remains: Where is the President?” Mr Obi wrote.

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The presidency has previously defended Mr Tinubu’s decision to skip the UNGA, saying Nigeria was adequately represented by Mr Shettima, who delivered the country’s national statement. The government also said the president remained in contact with officials at home and continued to direct government affairs while abroad.

The criticism has extended beyond Mr Obi. A faction of the Peoples Democratic Party led by former minister Kabiru Turaki criticised the extension of Mr Tinubu’s vacation, arguing that he should have travelled to the United States for the UNGA after his engagements in Europe.

The African Democratic Congress also questioned the constitutional implications of the prolonged absence of both Mr Tinubu and Mr Shettima, while some lawmakers called for the National Assembly to examine whether the constitutional procedure for presidential absence had been followed.

Mr Onanuga, however, said Mr Tinubu would return home this week.

The presidency said the president would also attend events marking Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary and the premiere of a film commemorating the late MKO Abiola, the businessman and democracy campaigner who died in detention after the annulment of the 12 June 1993 presidential election.