The Presidency has responded to growing concerns over President Bola Tinubu’s ongoing stay abroad, assuring Nigerians that the president remains fully in charge of the country’s affairs and will return to Nigeria after the Easter holiday.
This reassurance comes a day after Peter Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate in the last general elections, called on the president to suspend his “retreat in a foreign land” and return home to confront Nigeria’s worsening security crisis.
In a statement issued Thursday by Bayo Onanuga, the president’s special adviser on information and strategy, the presidency said Tinubu’s absence is “temporary and in line with the communicated timeframe of approximately two weeks.”
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu remains fully engaged in Nigeria’s governance even though he is away in Europe,” the statement said, adding that “his administration continues to function effectively under his leadership.”
The statement clarified that the president had moved from Paris to London over the weekend and has been in “constant communication with key government officials, overseeing critical national matters, including directives to security chiefs to address emerging threats in some parts of the country.”
Over the last two weeks, insecurity has surged across the country, with over 150 people reportedly killed in various attacks, particularly in Plateau, Benue and Zamfara states. Borno State leaders have also raised alarm over the resurgence of insurgent activities, while abductions and killings continue in the South East.
Obi, in his statement on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, criticised the President for being away during a period of national distress, saying, “One wonders the type of retreat going on in another country where peace has been secured by their leaders while blood continues to flow in our country.”
But the Presidency pushed back on the criticism, maintaining that “the President’s commitment to his duties remains unwavering,” and that governance “proceeds without interruption.”
Tinubu is expected to return to Abuja after the Easter holiday, though a specific date was not provided.
