President Bola Tinubu has postponed his return to Nigeria following a last-minute change to his travel plans, with his arrival now expected on Tuesday, September 29.
Tinubu had initially been expected to return to Nigeria this weekend after spending several weeks in Europe on what the presidency described as a working vacation.
Sources in the presidency had earlier indicated that the President would return on Sunday and arrive in Lagos, where he was expected to remain for about a week before proceeding to Abuja.
However, the itinerary has now been revised, with Tinubu’s return reportedly shifted to Tuesday.
The President departed Nigeria on August 30 for London, United Kingdom, where he began a three-week working vacation as part of his annual leave. After spending about a week in Britain, he travelled to Paris, France.
During his stay in Paris, Tinubu held meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron and businessman Vincent Bolloré.
On September 21, the presidency announced that the President had extended his stay abroad by a few days and would return to Nigeria at the weekend.
The presidency said Tinubu had remained in contact with officials in Nigeria and continued to direct government affairs despite his absence.
Vice-President Kashim Shettima had represented the President at some official engagements during his absence but later travelled to New York on September 20 to represent Nigeria at the 81st United Nations General Assembly.
Tinubu’s prolonged absence from the country has also generated a constitutional debate, with some opposition figures questioning whether presidential powers should have been formally transferred to Shettima after 21 days.
Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution provides that when the President proceeds on vacation, he is to transmit a written declaration to the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives, after which the Vice-President performs the functions of the President in an acting capacity.
However, Senate President Godswill Akpabio said on Tuesday that there was no vacancy in Aso Rock, maintaining that Tinubu remained in charge of the country’s affairs despite his absence from Nigeria.
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