President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria has returned to Abuja, the country’s seat of power after a two-week long disappearance from the country.
His return early Wednesday morning followed concerns by Nigerians over his whereabouts.
He was greeted on his arrival at the presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on early Wednesday morning by top government officials.
SaharaReporters reported that President Tinubu left Nigeria on April 23 in an official visit to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, at the invitation of Prime Minister, Mark Rutte.
According to reports during his time in the Netherlands, he held discussions with prominent Dutch officials, including separate meetings with King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima.
Additionally, he participated in the Nigerian-Dutch Business and Investment Forum.
Following his engagements in the Netherlands, the President attended a special World Economic Forum meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from April 28 to 29. The forum, themed “Global Collaboration, Growth, and Energy for Development,” convened leaders from various sectors to discuss global development strategies.
However, after the conclusion of the summit on April 29th, the President’s whereabouts remained undisclosed, with the presidency providing no information.
SaharaReporters had also reported that the President was in France a few days after his trip to Saudi Arabia officially ended following the conclusion of the World Economic Forum in Riyadh.
Investigation by SaharaReporters showed that the President first went to London, England from Saudi Arabia and then left the UK for France.
While the Presidency was silent on the trip to the UK from Saudi Arabia and later to France, SaharaReporters was told that the President’s unreported trip to France was for medical reasons.
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, had confirmed Tinubu’s return to the country.
“President Bola Tinubu, along with his aides, will return to Nigeria tomorrow from Europe,” Onanuga wrote.
It would be recalled that former Vice President and PDP candidate in the last presidential election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, had descended on Tinubu, whom he accused of globetrotting in search of foreign direct investments.
He also dismissed the presidency’s claims of having secured billions of dollars in investment from various companies, when nothing was allegedly forthcoming.
Onanuga had asserted on top of claim that different sectors of the economy, notably telecoms, manufacturing, solid minerals, oil and gas, e-commerce, and fintech, had been attracting new Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) from discerning investors, who were convinced that Nigeria was a good market for bountiful returns.
