Tinubu Returns To Lagos After 29-Day Working Vacation, To Honour MKO Abiola On Independence Day

CYRIACUS IZUEKWE 

President Bola Tinubu returned to Nigeria on Tuesday evening after spending 29 days on a working vacation abroad, with his presidential aircraft touching down at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, confirmed the arrival in a statement, noting that the presidential jet landed at about 6:22pm.

Tinubu had departed Abuja on August 30 for the vacation. According to the Presidency, he spent the first week in London, United Kingdom, before proceeding to Paris, France, where he spent the rest of the working holiday.

While in Paris, the President engaged in a series of private and official meetings. Onanuga disclosed that Tinubu held a private dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron, where both leaders discussed bilateral relations and investment opportunities between Nigeria and France.

The President also met with top business executives, including Vincent Bolloré of the Bolloré Group and Nigerian billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola, Chairman of First Holdings. The meetings, according to the Presidency, focused on attracting foreign direct investment into Nigeria’s key sectors.

One of the major highlights of the trip was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ogun State Government and DP World for the development of a $7 billion deep seaport in Ogun Waterside and a Blue Marine Economic Zone. President Tinubu witnessed the signing ceremony in Paris.

http://P.M.EXPRESS gathered that the proposed deep seaport is expected to create thousands of jobs and boost trade in the South-West when completed.

Presidential aides said Tinubu used the vacation period to rest and also to hold strategic consultations on the economy and governance.

Unlike previous returns where the President landed in Abuja, Tinubu chose to land in Lagos first. Onanuga explained that the decision was to allow the President to pay tribute to the late Chief MKO Abiola, the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.

As part of the Independence Day celebrations, Tinubu is scheduled to attend the premiere of a film honouring Abiola on October 1 at the Wole Soyinka National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos.

The film premiere is part of activities lined up to mark Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary and to celebrate Nigeria’s democratic heroes.

Onanuga added that while in Lagos, the President will also hold strategic political meetings with key stakeholders over the coming days as part of early preparations ahead of the 2027 general elections.

After the Lagos engagements, the President is expected to return to Abuja to resume official duties at the Presidential Villa.

Tinubu’s 29-day vacation is one of his longest absences from the country since assuming office on May 29, 2023. The Presidency has repeatedly described his foreign trips as working vacations, combining rest with official engagements aimed at attracting investment to Nigeria.