Tinubu Postpones Return To Nigeria After Last-Minute Change To Travel Plans
President Bola Tinubu has postponed his return to Nigeria after a last-minute adjustment to his travel itinerary, presidency sources have told TheCable.
Tinubu, who left the country on August 30 for a working vacation in Europe, was expected back in the country this weekend. The reason for the latest change was not known as of Sunday morning.
Sources had earlier indicated the President would return today, Sunday, September 28, landing first in Lagos where he would spend up to a week before proceeding to Abuja.
That plan has now been revised, with his return now likely on Tuesday.
*Weeks Abroad*
The President began what the Presidency described as a three-week working vacation as part of his 2025 annual leave in London, after departing Nigeria on August 30.
After about a week in the United Kingdom, he travelled to Paris, France, where he held meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron and French businessman Vincent Bolloré.
On September 21, the Presidency announced an extension of his stay by a few days, saying he would return at the weekend. The statement stressed that Tinubu had remained in constant contact with officials at home and continued to direct government affairs while away.
Vice-President Kashim Shettima had been representing the President at certain official engagements during the absence, but Shettima himself travelled to New York on September 20 to lead Nigeria’s delegation to the 81st United Nations General Assembly, which opens this week.
*Why It Matters: Constitutional Questions*
The latest adjustment comes amid growing public scrutiny over the length of the President’s absence – now approaching one month.
The development has triggered a constitutional debate, with opposition figures asking whether presidential powers should have been formally transmitted to the Vice-President after 21 days away.
Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) provides that:
“Whenever the President is proceeding on vacation or is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, he shall transmit a written declaration to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to that effect, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, the Vice-President shall perform the functions of the President as Acting President.”
The Presidency has maintained that no such transmission was necessary because the President remains fully in charge and is working remotely.
On Tuesday, Senate President Godswill Akpabio weighed in, saying “there is no vacancy in Aso Rock,” and that President Tinubu remains in charge of the country’s affairs despite being physically absent.
Tinubu’s extended stay abroad is his second lengthy foreign break since assuming office in May 2023, and comes at a time of mounting economic pressure at home, with Nigerians closely watching developments around fuel pricing, forex stability and the ongoing UNGA engagements in New York.
