Tinubu Returns Tuesday as Presidency Knocks Obi: President Hale, Hearty, Fully in Charge

…Says President has been working throughout vacation, seals major investment deals

…Shettima carried Nigeria’s full mandate to UNGA

By Franklin Adole

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is expected back in Nigeria on Tuesday after a four-week working vacation in Europe, as the Presidency moved to dispel speculation over his prolonged absence, declaring that the President is “hale and hearty” and has remained fully engaged in running the affairs of the country.

Tinubu is expected to arrive in Lagos on September 29, ahead of activities marking Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary on October 1.

The clarification followed fresh questions raised by Nigeria Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Peter Obi, over Tinubu’s absence from the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, where Vice President Kashim Shettima represented Nigeria.

Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said on Sunday that suggestions that Tinubu’s absence meant he was not attending to his responsibilities ignored both the nature of his working vacation and the realities of governance in the digital age.

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

“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.”

The President left Nigeria on August 30 for London before proceeding to Paris, France, where he held meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron and businessman Vincent Bolloré, among other engagements.

Far from being disengaged from official responsibilities, the Presidency said Tinubu had remained in regular contact with officials at home, directing government business and holding investment-related meetings while abroad.

Among the major economic engagements during the period was the signing of agreements between the Ogun State Government and global ports and logistics giant DP World for the development of the Gateway Deep Seaport and the Blue Marine Special Economic Zone in Ogun Waterside.

The Presidency has put the proposed investment at about $7 billion, presenting the project as further evidence that Tinubu’s economic diplomacy continued even while he was formally on vacation.

Tinubu’s absence from the UN General Assembly nevertheless drew criticism from Obi, who contrasted it with the appearance of Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama.

After praising Mahama’s address, Obi asked: “Where is Nigeria’s President?”

He argued that the President of Africa’s most populous country ought to be visible on the international stage at a time Nigeria faces major domestic and international challenges.

But the Presidency rejected the suggestion that Nigeria was left without high-level representation, pointing out that Tinubu deliberately delegated Vice President Shettima to represent him at the UNGA with the full authority of the Presidency.

Onanuga also noted that Tinubu was not the only major African leader absent from this year’s gathering, citing South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

He accused Obi of pretending not to know the President’s whereabouts despite the Presidency having publicly announced Tinubu’s annual vacation and subsequently disclosed its extension.

“Yet Peter Obi pretends to be unaware of President Tinubu’s whereabouts and asks the puerile question his followers are asking on X,” Onanuga said.

The Presidency had initially announced that Tinubu would return at the weekend after extending his vacation by a few days, but his itinerary was subsequently adjusted.

He is now expected to arrive in Lagos on Tuesday and remain there for Independence Day engagements before returning to Abuja.

Among his scheduled engagements is the premiere of a documentary honouring the late Chief MKO Abiola, winner of the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election and a central figure in Nigeria’s democratic struggle.

Tinubu is also expected to participate in activities marking Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary, bringing his European working vacation to an end.

For the Presidency, the central response to the controversy is that physical absence from Abuja did not amount to an absence from duty: Tinubu remained in command, continued directing government affairs and used part of the period abroad to pursue investment opportunities for the country.