Tinubu Off To Europe On 10-day Working Vacation

PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu departed Abuja about 3.30pm on Thursday, September 4, to commence a 10-day working vacation in Europe, as part of his 2025 annual leave.
A statement by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on Thursday, September 4, had earlier stated: “The vacation will last 10 working days. President Tinubu will spend the period between France and the UK and then return to the country.”
The latest foreign trip comes shortly after the President’s 12-day diplomatic mission to Japan and Brazil, with stopovers in Dubai (United Arab Emirates) and Los Angeles (United States).
On August 15, Tinubu left Nigeria, made a brief stop in Dubai and arrived in Yokohama, Japan, on August 18, during which he participated in the ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9).
While in Brazil, the President held talks with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and other senior Brazilian officials and signed memoranda of understanding in the aviation, foreign affairs, science and technology and agriculture sectors.
He returned to Nigeria on August 28.
In April, the President spent 19 days in France and the United Kingdom (UK) on private visits.
Being a working vacation, no mention was made in the statement regarding transmission of a formal letter to the National Assembly, as required under Section 145(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), to enable Vice President, Kashim Shettima, to act in his absence.
More so, both chambers of the National Assembly are currently on recess.
Recall that in October last year, Tinubu spent over two weeks in the UK and France on a similar “working vacation” without a formal handover.
Since assuming office on May 29, 2023, the President has travelled abroad on several ocassions, making him one of Nigeria’s most travelled leaders.
In his first 17 months in office by October last year, Tinubu and Shettima had undertaken 41 trips across 26 countries, collectively spending 180 days abroad.
Specifically, Tinubu spent 124 days abroad, visiting 16 countries on 29 trips.