Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has postponed his return to Nigeria following a last-minute adjustment to his travel itinerary, with presidency sources saying he is now expected back in the country on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, ending a working vacation in Europe that has stretched to about four weeks and triggered a constitutional debate over the length of his absence.
The President had been expected to return to Nigeria on Sunday, after the Presidency announced on September 21 that he had extended his stay abroad by a few days and would be back at the weekend. Sources familiar with his itinerary had said he would arrive in Lagos and remain there for up to a week before travelling to Abuja. However, the itinerary was revised over the weekend, and by Sunday morning, the reason for the latest change had not been disclosed. The President is now expected to return through Lagos, where he will be received at the presidential wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Ikeja by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
The revised schedule means Tinubu will spend Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary in Lagos rather than Abuja. He is expected to remain in Lagos through Thursday, October 1, when he will mark the anniversary and deliver a national broadcast. This will be the second consecutive year that Tinubu observes Independence Day in Lagos, following a similar arrangement in 2025 when he stayed back in the commercial capital amid heightened security concerns. The Federal Government has already announced that the President’s Independence Day broadcast will form part of the activities for the 66th anniversary, with a public lecture scheduled for September 30. After the anniversary, Tinubu is expected to remain in Lagos for a few days to attend to official engagements before returning to Abuja the following weekend.
Tinubu departed Abuja on August 30 for what the Presidency described as a three-week annual leave in Europe, with London as his first destination. After spending about a week in the United Kingdom, he travelled to Paris, France, where he held meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron and businessman Vincent Bolloré, whose business interests include Canal+, MultiChoice and Universal Music Group. The Presidency announced an extension of his stay on September 21, saying he remained in close contact with officials at home and continued to direct government affairs remotely. Vice-President Kashim Shettima represented the President at several official functions during his absence, including leading Nigeria’s delegation to the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, where he delivered Nigeria’s national statement. With both the President and Vice-President out of the country for a period, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, continued to represent the President at selected official functions.
Despite his absence from Nigeria, Tinubu has continued to receive briefings and issue directives on matters of national importance. Among the major developments during his absence was his directive for a comprehensive investigation into the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners held in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Minna, Niger State. The Federal Government subsequently constituted a 10-member independent investigative committee, and several NSCDC officers were suspended pending the outcome of the inquiry.
The President’s extended stay has drawn criticism from opposition figures, who have raised constitutional questions about the length of his absence. The media adviser to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, Paul Ibe, questioned what was keeping Tinubu in Paris, noting that French President Macron had attended to his country’s international engagements and returned home while Nigeria continued to face security, economic and cost-of-living challenges. Ibe cited Section 145(1) of the 1999 Constitution, which provides that a President proceeding on vacation or otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office shall transmit a written declaration to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, enabling the Vice-President to perform the functions of President as Acting President. Section 145(2) provides that where the President fails to transmit such a declaration within 21 days, the National Assembly may, by a simple majority of each House, mandate the Vice-President to perform the functions of President. Ibe said Tinubu had been away for 28 days, seven days beyond the 21-day period referenced in his argument. “So where is the letter? If it was transmitted, let the Presidency, Senate President or Speaker publish it. If no letter was transmitted, Nigerians deserve to know why the constitutional procedure has not been followed,” he said. He also referred to speculation that Tinubu was in France for medical reasons, saying the Presidency should provide a clear explanation for the President’s prolonged stay. “Nigeria cannot be placed on indefinite vacation,” he added.
The constitutional question has been a recurring theme throughout the President’s absence. On September 22, Senate President Godswill Akpabio dismissed concerns, insisting that “there is no vacancy in Aso Rock” and affirming that Tinubu remains firmly in charge of the nation’s affairs despite his extended stay abroad. The Presidency also rejected insinuations about Tinubu’s absence from the UN General Assembly as baseless and irresponsible. However, members of the House of Representatives under the Save Democracy Group had called for the National Assembly to reconvene and determine whether the constitutional requirements concerning Tinubu’s absence had been met.
Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, also questioned Tinubu’s absence in a post while commenting on Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama’s address to the UNGA. The African Democratic Congress had earlier challenged Tinubu to produce a conviction or stop parading allegations as verdicts, in a separate dispute over the President’s record. The political temperature around the President’s absence has been further heightened by the approaching 2027 general elections, scheduled for January 16, with the governorship and state assembly elections following on February 6. The Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, has in recent weeks led party leaders in consultations with prominent traditional rulers across the country, and the President’s return is expected to be followed by a meeting with members of the Progressive Governors’ Forum, potentially as early as next week, to resolve the dispute over the FCT Minister’s Rainbow Coalition.
For the Presidency, the latest itinerary change is a logistical matter. For the opposition, it is further evidence of a President who has been away from the country for too long at a time of significant national challenges. For Nigerians, the President’s return on Tuesday will mark the end of an extended absence that has been defined as much by the questions it raised as by the official engagements conducted from abroad. Whether the constitutional debate fades once Tinubu is back on Nigerian soil, or whether it becomes a lasting issue in the 2027 campaign, will depend on how the Presidency addresses the questions that have been raised. For now, the President is expected home on Tuesday, and the country will be watching.
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