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Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has been expected to return this week after several weeks abroad on a working vacation, with his aide saying he is in good health.
Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said in a statement on Sunday that the President remained “hale and hearty” and continued working while abroad.
Onanuga said Tinubu did not need to be physically present in Abuja to perform his duties, given the ability to work remotely.
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“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 also held meetings with investors in France during his stay, including discussions linked to a proposed $7 billion deep-sea port in Ogun Waterside.
The comments came after opposition figures criticised the President’s prolonged absence from Nigeria and his decision not to attend the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
Tinubu left Nigeria on August 30 for what the Presidency initially described as a three-week annual vacation, travelling first to London before moving to Paris.
The Presidency later announced that he had extended the working vacation by a few days and would return at the weekend.
Vice President Kashim Shettima represented Tinubu at the UN General Assembly, marking the third consecutive year he has led Nigeria’s delegation.
Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar questioned Tinubu’s continued absence and raised concerns over the constitutional procedure for transferring presidential duties.
Atiku referred to Section 145 of the Constitution, which provides for a written declaration when the President proceeds on vacation, and the Vice President is expected to act in his place. He questioned whether Nigerians had been shown evidence that the required declaration had been made.
Similarly, Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate Peter Obi criticised Tinubu’s decision to spend his vacation in Europe, arguing that the President should focus on challenges facing Nigerians. Obi also questioned why Tinubu could not take his vacation within Nigeria.
The Presidency, however, has maintained that Tinubu remained in touch with developments at home and continued to direct government affairs while abroad. It also said Shettima carried the President’s full mandate to the UN General Assembly and would advance Nigeria’s interests in New York.
Onanuga further compared Tinubu’s absence from the UN gathering with that of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who also did not attend.
He also criticised Obi for questioning Tinubu’s whereabouts, saying the former Anambra governor knew the President was on vacation.
“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.
According to the presidential aide, Tinubu is expected to return to Nigeria this week for the country’s 66th Independence Anniversary. He is also expected to attend the Lagos premiere of a film commemorating the late MKO Abiola, whom Onanuga described as “the martyr of the democracy we enjoy today.”
President Tinubu is hale and hearty
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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.
And we… pic.twitter.com/KEj0uOZZPO
— Bayo Onanuga, OON, CON (@aonanuga1956) September 27, 2026
