By Eshioromeh Sebastian
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will return to Nigeria at the weekend, following the extension of his working vacation by a few days, the State House has announced.
The President departed Nigeria on August 30 for London to begin the working vacation. After spending a week in the British capital, he moved to Paris, France, where he held meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron and businessman Mr Vincent Bollore, whose media group includes Canal+, Multichoice, and Universal Music Group.
In a statement issued on Monday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency confirmed that the vacation had been extended but gave no specific date for the President’s return beyond “the weekend.”
Despite being away, President Tinubu has continued to keep in touch with home and direct the affairs of the nation, the statement said.
Among the key decisions taken from abroad, the President ordered an independent panel to investigate the death of 37 illegal miners in Minna, following their detention by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), among other matters.
While away, President Tinubu delegated Vice President Kashim Shettima to represent him at some official functions. Though Shettima left Abuja on September 20 for New York to attend the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, who has also been representing the President at events, will continue to do so.
Vice President Shettima, who is representing the President at the global conference, will present Nigeria’s national statement at the 81st UNGA.
On the political front, the Director-General of the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), Senator Abubakar Yari, has been leading notable party leaders in consultations with prominent traditional rulers across the country.
The Presidency described as “irresponsible” the baseless insinuation by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and a United States-based lobbying firm headed by an ex-convict about President Tinubu’s non-attendance at UNGA.
President Tinubu’s extended working vacation comes at a politically sensitive moment, with the 2027 general elections on the horizon and the opposition increasingly questioning his visibility on the global stage.
The decision to skip UNGA — a high-profile platform where Nigerian presidents traditionally address the world — has provided ammunition to critics, particularly Atiku Abubakar, who has seized on the absence to question the President’s commitment to international engagement.
The Presidency’s counter-argument is that a working vacation is not an abdication of duty. The statement pointedly lists decisions taken while abroad — the Minna miners’ probe being the most prominent — to demonstrate that the President remains fully in charge.
The presence of Vice President Shettima in New York, where he will deliver Nigeria’s national statement, is intended to project continuity and reassure international partners that Nigeria is not absent from the global conversation.
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