MON SEPT 28 2026-theGBJournal| Nigeria’s presidency has defended President Bola Tinubu’s continued absence from the country, saying he is “hale and hearty” and has remained engaged in government business while on an extended working vacation in Europe.
The president left Nigeria on 30 August for what was initially announced as a three-week annual vacation, travelling first to London before moving to Paris.
The Presidency later said he had extended the trip by several days. As of 28 September, he had been outside Nigeria for about four weeks.
His prolonged absence has drawn questions from opposition politicians and other Nigerians, including Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the opposition Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), who has questioned why the president remains abroad.
Bayo Onanuga, Mr Tinubu’s special adviser on information and strategy, dismissed concerns over the president’s health and ability to govern from outside the country.
“President Tinubu is hale and hearty,” Mr Onanuga said.
“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,” he added.
The Presidency says Mr Tinubu has remained in contact with officials in Nigeria and continued to direct government affairs during his absence.
Vice-President Kashim Shettima has represented him at a number of official engagements, including the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Mr Tinubu did not attend this year’s UN General Assembly, continuing a pattern in which Mr Shettima has represented him at the gathering in recent years.
The Presidency has argued that delegating attendance does not prevent the president from carrying out his constitutional responsibilities.
Mr Onanuga pointed to the president’s activities in France as evidence that the trip has included official business.
While in Paris, Mr Tinubu witnessed the signing of agreements between the Ogun State government and DP World for the proposed Gateway Deep Seaport and Ogun State Blue Marine Special Economic Zone.
The agreements envisage more than $7 billion in initial investment and, according to the Presidency, could create more than 50,000 direct jobs when fully developed.
Mr Onanuga said the president had also met investors in France.
He compared Mr 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 this year’s General Assembly.
He said the Nigerian president had instead delegated the responsibility to his vice-president.
Mr Obi has criticised the president’s decision to spend his vacation abroad and questioned his continued absence as Nigeria faces economic and security challenges.
Mr Onanuga responded sharply, accusing the opposition politician of pretending not to know where Mr Tinubu was.
“Yet Peter Obi pretends to be unaware of President Tinubu’s whereabouts and asks the puerile question his followers are asking on X,” he said.
The Presidency had initially said Mr Tinubu would return at the weekend after extending his vacation. It subsequently said he would return to Nigeria this week.
The latest reports from the Presidency put his return at Tuesday, 29 September, after about four weeks in Europe.
Mr Onanuga said the president was expected to take part in Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary activities and attend the Lagos premiere of a film about the late businessman and democracy activist MKO Abiola.
The controversy over the president’s absence has also included questions about the constitutional arrangements governing a president’s vacation abroad.
Former vice-president Atiku Abubakar and the African Democratic Congress have separately called for greater clarity over the circumstances of Mr Tinubu’s extended stay outside Nigeria.
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