Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ended his working vacation in France and departed Paris for Nigeria, with his aircraft expected to arrive at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos later on Tuesday, September 29, 2026. The return marks the end of a 28-day absence from the country that began on August 30, when the President left Abuja for what the Presidency initially described as a three-week annual vacation. He spent one week in London before proceeding to Paris, where he remained for the better part of a month, sparking a fierce constitutional and political debate about the limits of presidential absence and the exercise of executive power from abroad.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency confirmed that Tinubu had already departed Paris and was on his way home. The statement said the President chose to return through Lagos to honour the memory of Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, whom it described as “the martyr of Nigeria’s democratic struggle.” On Independence Day, October 1, Tinubu will attend the premiere of a movie honouring Abiola at the Wole Soyinka National Theatre in Iganmu, Lagos. While in Lagos, the President will also hold strategic meetings with political leaders and associates over several days in preparation for the 2027 general elections. He is expected to return to Abuja after those engagements.
The Presidency has consistently defended the extended vacation, describing it as a “working vacation” during which the President continued to discharge his duties. Onanuga said Tinubu was “hale and hearty” and had remained in touch with developments at home. He cited the President’s meetings with investors in France, including discussions that facilitated a $7 billion deep-sea port project in Ogun Waterside, an initiative of the Ogun State Government. During his stay in Paris, Tinubu attended a private dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace and met with business leaders, including Vincent Bolloré of the Bolloré Group, whose media and digital interests include Canal+, MultiChoice and Universal Music Group. He also met with the Chairman of First Holdings, Femi Otedola, and witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ogun State Government and DP World to develop a Gateway deep seaport and establish a Blue Marine Economic Zone. “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.
But the President’s prolonged absence has drawn sharp criticism from opposition figures, who argue that it raises serious constitutional questions. The African Democratic Congress, through its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, described Tinubu’s stay in France as a “national disgrace,” particularly because he was vacationing while President Macron was in New York attending the United Nations General Assembly. “President Tinubu cannot be vacationing in Paris while President Macron is in New York representing France and expect Nigerians to accept that it is okay for their President to continue to hang around in a country after the host has left to attend to more important things,” Abdullahi said. He described the simultaneous absence of the President and Vice-President Kashim Shettima as a “dangerous disregard for the Constitution.”
At the centre of the controversy is Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution, which requires the President to transmit a written declaration to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives when proceeding on vacation, after which the Vice-President performs the functions of Acting President. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, through his media aide Paul Ibe, questioned whether Tinubu had complied with this requirement. “President Tinubu left Nigeria on 30 August for what the Presidency described as a three-week annual vacation. That period expired days ago. His return was subsequently extended, and reports today indicate that his expected return today has been postponed yet again,” Atiku said. “The obvious question is: what exactly is keeping the President of Nigeria in Paris? 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 noted that former President Muhammadu Buhari transferred presidential functions to Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on five occasions during his tenure, including through formal Section 145 communications to the National Assembly.
The Presidency has dismissed these concerns as politically motivated. Onanuga compared Tinubu’s absence from the UNGA with that of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, saying neither leader attended this year’s gathering. He also criticised Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, for questioning Tinubu’s whereabouts. “Yet Peter Obi pretends to be unaware of President Tinubu’s whereabouts and asks the puerile question his followers are asking on X,” Onanuga said. A member of the House of Representatives from Agege Federal Constituency, Dr. Wale Ahmed, defended the President, saying his absence did not mean governance had stopped. “Being outside Nigeria does not mean being outside government,” Ahmed said. “The President can receive briefings, issue directives and take decisions from anywhere.”
As Tinubu returns to Lagos, the debate over his vacation is unlikely to fade. The President is expected to attend the Independence Day premiere honouring Abiola and hold political meetings ahead of the 2027 elections. But the constitutional questions raised by the opposition remain unanswered. The Presidency has not published a Section 145 declaration, and the National Assembly has not commented on whether one was transmitted. For now, the President is back on Nigerian soil, but the controversy over who was governing Nigeria during his 28-day absence continues.
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