President Bola Tinubu has departed Nigeria for Europe on a three-week vacation, which forms part of his leave for 2026.
The President left Abuja on Sunday amid official send-off ceremonies involving government officials, security personnel, and military officers.
Footage from the departure shows the President arriving at the airport in a motorcade, walking with aides, and boarding aircraft as personnel saluted and colleagues waved farewell.
Presidential Adviser on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, addressed the media at the scene.
Explaining the reason for the leave, Dare said the break would allow Tinubu to “refuel” after months of intense engagement with state matters.
He stated the President had spent the past six to seven months handling state matters, including decisions on security and the economy, ahead of the campaign season for the 2027 elections.
“The President has had several months—six, seven months—of being engaged with state matters. We’ve seen monumental changes, monumental decisions taken with our security, with our economy and so many other things as pertains to the running of the affairs of this country,” he said.
He added that the campaign season had begun and would involve several months of intense political activities, although governance would continue.
“And at this point, the campaign season has just started. We have four, five months of serious campaigning. Of course, governance will still continue,” Dare said.
He said the leave was important for the President to rest and prepare for the campaign season, adding that Tinubu would remain engaged with government affairs while abroad.
“And at this point, it’s important that the President also refuels. And even though he’s going on leave, we know that he’ll be engaged with state matters on a daily basis. He will receive briefings from his ministers, from the service chiefs as the case may be, and from every other person who is handling very key decisions in our country,” he said.
Tinubu’s departure followed the announcement by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, that the President would embark on a three-week annual leave in Europe.
Onanuga said Tinubu’s first stop would be London, United Kingdom, and that he was expected to return to Nigeria after the working vacation to join the campaign for the January 2027 election.
The President’s vacation comes shortly after Vice President Kashim Shettima returned from a two-week leave on August 18, two days ahead of his scheduled return date.
Shettima commenced his leave on August 6, with his office saying at the time that he would use the period for “study, reflection and intellectual renewal.”
(Punch)
