Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Information and Strategy, has confirmed that the president is “hale and hearty” and scheduled to return to Nigeria this week.
In a post on X on Sunday, Onanuga stated that President Tinubu has been on a working vacation and remains fully capable of discharging his official duties remotely.
He added that the president has been meeting with international investors in France, noting that his absence from Abuja has not halted government operations.
As an example, Onanuga highlighted President Tinubu’s recent authorization of a $7 billion deep-sea port project in Ogun Waterside for the Ogun State government.
Onanuga also compared President Bola Tinubu’s absence from the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York with the absences of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
He claimed that the absence of the Egyptian and South African presidents from the UNGA did not cause any problems in their respective countries.
“The Nigerian President announced he was taking his annual vacation and delegated attendance to his able and dependable Vice President,” Onanuga wrote on X.
Onanuga also criticised Peter Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), for questioning Tinubu’s whereabouts despite the President’s declared vacation.
“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.
President Tinubu can rule Nigeria from anywhere – Presidency insists
The Presidency has clarified that President Bola Tinubu is constitutionally permitted to govern Nigeria from any location, asserting that physical presence in Abuja is not a prerequisite for discharging executive duties.
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, issued his statement on Sunday in response to public concerns regarding the duration of the president’s stay abroad, which has exceeded the initially scheduled three-week period.
The delay in President Tinubu’s anticipated return last week had generated growing concern and debate among citizens.
Backstory…
This comes as President Tinubu again postponed his return to Nigeria due to a last-minute adjustment to his travel schedule, administrative sources told TheCable.
The president was expected to return to the country over the weekend following a weeks-long working vacation in Europe. As of Sunday morning, the reasons for the sudden schedule change remain unconfirmed.
Initial plans indicated that President Tinubu would land in Lagos for an extended stay of up to a week before proceeding to the federal capital, Abuja. However, the schedule has been revised, with the president’s return now likely on Tuesday.
Read Also: Again, President Tinubu Postpones Return Trip from France
