The Presidency has dismissed concerns raised by Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), over the whereabouts of President Bola Tinubu, insisting the President is hale and hearty. Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said in a post on X on Sunday that Tinubu has been on a working vacation in Europe and remains fully engaged in the affairs of state. 2457
Onanuga said Tinubu is entitled to his annual vacation and does not need to be physically present in Abuja to discharge his duties in the digital age. He noted that the President has continued to work from abroad, including meetings with investors in France and facilitating a $7 billion deep-sea port project in Ogun Waterside. 028b
The presidential spokesman also defended Tinubu’s absence from the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, noting that Vice President Kashim Shettima was delegated to represent Nigeria. He pointed out that South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi were also absent from the UNGA without controversy in their countries. 028b
Responding directly to Obi’s question, “where is the President?”, Onanuga accused the former Anambra governor of feigning ignorance. “Yet Peter Obi pretends to be unaware of President Tinubu’s whereabouts and asks the puerile question his followers are asking on X,”
Onanuga added that Tinubu is expected back in Nigeria this week ahead of the country’s 66th Independence Anniversary. He said the President will also attend the premiere in Lagos of a film honouring the late MKO Abiola, described as the martyr of Nigeria’s democracy. 028b
