Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga says President Bola Tinubu is “hale and hearty” and currently on a working vacation, dismissing concerns over the President’s absence from Nigeria….
Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga says President Bola Tinubu is “hale and hearty” and currently on a working vacation, dismissing concerns over the President’s absence from Nigeria.
Onanuga said Tinubu was entitled to his annual vacation and did not need to be physically present in Abuja to discharge his responsibilities in an era of digital communication.
He said the President had continued to work during the vacation, including meetings with investors in France and efforts that recently facilitated a $7 billion deep-sea port project in Ogun Waterside, an initiative of the Ogun State Government.
The presidential spokesman also noted that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi were absent from the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
According to him, Ramaphosa had booked himself off public engagements, while Tinubu had formally announced his annual vacation and delegated Nigeria’s representation at the UNGA to Vice President Kashim Shettima.
Onanuga criticised former Anambra State governor Peter Obi for questioning Tinubu’s whereabouts, describing the question as “puerile”.
He wrote on X: “President Tinubu 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.”
Onanuga said Tinubu is expected to return to Nigeria this week for the country’s 66th Independence Anniversary celebrations.
He added that the President would also honour the late MKO Abiola, whom he described as “the martyr of the democracy we enjoy today”, by attending the Lagos premiere of a film commemorating Abiola.
