*President Bola Tinubu.
The Presidency has dismissed concerns over President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s absence from Nigeria and the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, saying the President is “hale and hearty” and has continued to discharge his responsibilities while on a working vacation in Europe.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, stated this in a post on Facebook on Sunday night while responding to questions surrounding the President’s whereabouts and decision not to attend the UN General Assembly personally.
Onanuga said Tinubu was entitled to take his annual vacation and did not need to be physically present in Abuja at all times to perform his constitutional responsibilities, particularly in an era in which communication technology allows him to remain in constant contact with officials and developments at home.
The presidential aide said the President had demonstrated that his vacation was not preventing him from engaging in matters of national importance, pointing to his meetings with investors and other engagements in France.
He specifically cited the recent signing of agreements involving the Ogun State Government and global ports and logistics operator DP World for the development of the Gateway Deep Seaport at Ogun Waterside and the Ogun State Blue Marine Special Economic Zone.
The agreements, signed in Paris on September 24 in the presence of Tinubu, are expected to attract more than $7 billion in initial investment. The proposed projects include a deep-sea port and a 10,000-hectare special economic zone, with the port expected to provide an alternative maritime gateway and help ease pressure on Lagos ports.
Onanuga’s position is consistent with an earlier statement from the Presidency that Tinubu departed Nigeria on August 30 for a working vacation, initially spending time in London before moving to Paris, where he met French President Emmanuel Macron and businessman Vincent Bolloré.
The Presidency had also said Tinubu continued to direct government affairs while abroad, including authorising an independent investigation into the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners who died while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Minna, Niger State.
Tinubu’s absence from the UN General Assembly was not unusual for a president, according to the Presidency.
Vice-President Kashim Shettima was delegated by President Tinubu
to lead Nigeria’s delegation to the high-level meeting in New York and deliver the country’s national statement.
Onanuga drew comparisons with the non attendance of other African leaders, arguing that Tinubu was not the only head of state who did not personally attend the UN gathering.
He said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa did not travel to New York for the high-level week. South Africa was represented at the General Debate by Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola, who delivered the country’s national statement on September 24. Official South African records also show that Ramaphosa issued a pre-recorded message for a UNGA81 high-level event on inequality.
Ramaphosa’s absence followed an announcement by the South African presidency that he had temporarily withdrawn from public engagements on medical advice.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi also did not personally attend the UN General Assembly, Onanuga recalled.
Egypt was represented. by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, who headed the country’s delegation at the direction of el-Sisi and participated in several high-level meetings during the assembly.
Onanuga’s comments came amid questions raised by some Nigerians, including former Anambra State governor and 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi, over Tinubu’s absence from the country and non-attendance at the UNGA.
Onanuga said Obi and some of his followers had questioned the President’s whereabouts despite the Presidency’s previous announcements about his working vacation.
He maintained that Tinubu’s location and activities had been publicly communicated, stressing that the President had continued to work and engage on issues affecting the Nigerian economy while abroad.
The Presidency had announced on September 21 that Tinubu would return to Nigeria at the weekend after extending his working vacation by a few days.
According to Onanuga, Tinubu is expected back in Nigeria this week to participate in the country’s 66th Independence Anniversary activities.
He is also expected to attend the Lagos premiere of MKO, a documentary chronicling the life and political struggle of the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, on October 1.
The documentary, produced by filmmaker Ose Oyamendan, is scheduled to premiere at the National Theatre, Lagos, on Independence Day before its nationwide cinema release on October 2.
Onanuga said Tinubu’s planned participation in the event would provide an opportunity to honour Abiola, whom he described as a martyr of the democratic struggle that culminated in Nigeria’s return to civilian rule.
Read the full Facebook post by Onanuga below:
President Tinubu is hale and hearty
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.
And we have seen that he has indeed been working, meeting investors in France, most recently facilitating a $7 billion deep-sea port in Ogun Waterside, an initiative of the Ogun State Government.
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. The Nigerian President announced he was taking his annual vacation and delegated attendance to his able and dependable Vice President.
Yet Peter Obi pretends to be unaware of President Tinubu’s whereabouts and asks the puerile question his followers are asking on X.
President Tinubu will return home this week to mark Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary and honour MKO Abiola, the martyr of the democracy we enjoy today, by attending the premiere of a movie in MKO’s memory in Lagos.