The Presidency has dismissed concerns over the whereabouts and health of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, declaring that the President is “hale and hearty” and has remained engaged with official duties while on his annual working vacation.
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, stated this in a post on his verified social media account on Sunday, in response to questions and comments surrounding Tinubu’s absence from Abuja and the ongoing United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
Onanuga said the President was entitled to his vacation and could continue to discharge his responsibilities without being physically present in the nation’s capital.
“President Tinubu is hale and hearty,” Onanuga declared.
“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 presidential aide said Tinubu had, in fact, remained engaged in official activities during his stay abroad, including meetings with investors in France.
“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,” he wrote.
The statement comes amid questions over Tinubu’s absence from the 81st UN General Assembly in New York, where Nigeria was represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima.
Onanuga sought to place the President’s absence in the context of other African leaders who also did not attend the UNGA in person.
“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,” he said.
According to him, Ramaphosa had “booked himself off public engagements,” while there was no comparable uproar in South Africa or Egypt over the absence of their respective presidents from the gathering.
“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,” Onanuga stated.
He stressed that, unlike any suggestion that the President’s absence was unexplained, Tinubu had formally announced that he was proceeding on his annual vacation and had delegated Nigeria’s representation at the UNGA to the Vice President.
“The Nigerian President announced he was taking his annual vacation and delegated attendance to his able and dependable Vice President,” he said.
Onanuga also took a swipe at Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), over questions attributed to him concerning Tinubu’s whereabouts.
“Yet Peter Obi pretends to be unaware of President Tinubu’s whereabouts and asks the puerile question his followers are asking on X,” the presidential aide said.
The Presidency has maintained that Tinubu’s working vacation has not amounted to an abandonment of his official responsibilities, with the President continuing to engage with investors and other matters of national interest while abroad.
Onanuga further disclosed that Tinubu is expected to return to Nigeria this week to participate in activities marking the country’s 66th Independence Anniversary.
He said the President would also honour the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, popularly known as MKO Abiola, by attending the premiere of a movie commemorating the late democracy campaigner in Lagos.
“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,” Onanuga stated.
The development is expected to bring an end to the questions surrounding the President’s prolonged absence from the country, as the Presidency reiterates that Tinubu has remained in charge of government while undertaking his announced annual vacation.
