President Bola Tinubu has extended his vacation by a few more days and is anticipated to be back in Nigeria by the weekend, the presidency said on Monday.
Tinubu left Nigeria on August 30 for London to start the vacation before heading to Paris, France, where he met with French President Emmanuel Macron and businessman Vincent Bolloré.
In a statement issued on Monday, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, stated that Tinubu had stayed in touch with developments back home and kept directing the country’s affairs while he was away.
The statement noted that Tinubu, among other directives, instructed an independent panel to look into the deaths of 37 illegal miners in Minna after they were detained by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
“President Tinubu will return to Nigeria at the weekend, following the extension of his working vacation by a few days,” the statement said.
During Tinubu’s absence, Vice President Kashim Shettima has stood in for him at several official engagements.
Nonetheless, Shettima departed Abuja on September 20 for New York to take part in the 81st United Nations General Assembly, with its general debate scheduled to start on Tuesday, September 22.
As stated by the Presidency, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, who has likewise been standing in for the President at official events, will keep doing so.
The statement went on to say that Shettima would stand in for Tinubu at the UN General Assembly and deliver Nigeria’s national statement.
Turning to politics, Onanuga said the Director-General of the Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abubakar Yari, had been heading consultations with notable traditional rulers throughout the country.
The Presidency also branded “what it termed the “baseless insinuation” made by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and a US-based lobbying firm run by an “ex-convict” regarding Tinubu’s absence from the UN General Assembly.
Tinubu’s engagements in Paris featured talks with President Emmanuel Macron and Vincent Bolloré, whose business holdings span media and entertainment companies.
The president is anticipated to return to Nigeria this weekend, following the prolonged working vacation.
