…..He Does Not Need To Be In Abuja To Govern
The Presidency has dismissed concerns over the continued absence of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, insisting that the President is hale and hearty.
President Tinubu had embarked on a three-week vacation but did not return on the expected date last Monday, prompting concerns from Nigerians, including opposition figures, over his whereabouts.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, had earlier explained that the President extended the vacation by a few days.
In a statement on Sunday, Onanuga said President Tinubu remains active and does not need to be physically present in Abuja to discharge his duties.
“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,” the statement read.
Onanuga said the President has been working while on vacation, including meeting investors in France and facilitating a $7 billion deep-sea port project in Ogun Waterside, an initiative of the Ogun State Government.
Reacting to criticism over Tinubu’s absence at the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Onanuga noted that other African leaders were also absent.
“Two other important African leaders were not in New York for the UNGA: South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa and Egypt’s Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Ramaphosa booked himself off public engagements. Johannesburg and Pretoria made no uproar over Ramaphosa’s absence at UNGA. And Egypt did not erupt that Sisi did not go to New York,” he said.
He added that President Tinubu had delegated attendance at UNGA to Vice President Kashim Shettima.
Onanuga further stated that the President would return to the country this week to mark Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary and to attend the premiere of a movie in memory of late Chief MKO Abiola in Lagos.
