Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu jets off to UK for two weeks annual vacation.
President Bola Tinubu is set to depart Abuja on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, for a two-week trip to the United Kingdom, marking his annual vacation.
According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, the leave is “part of his yearly leave.”
The statement, titled ‘President Tinubu goes on annual leave,’ further clarifies his plans, noting, “He will use the two weeks as a working vacation and a retreat to reflect on his administration’s economic reforms. He will return to the country after the leave expires.”
This trip comes just two weeks after Tinubu returned from the UK, where he met with King Charles III.
The UK is now the President’s 27th foreign destination since assuming office 16 months ago and his fourth trip to the country.
Since his inauguration, Tinubu has visited several countries, including Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, South Africa, India, the UAE, the US, Saudi Arabia, and more.
President Tinubu, last month acquired a new jet, Airbus A330, which replaced the 19-year-old Boeing B737-700(BBJ) acquired during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Just a day after after acquiring the new presidential jet, President Bola Tinubu departed the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja for Paris, capital of France.
Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu spent 3.4bn naira ($3.5m; £2.7m) on domestic and foreign travel during his first six months in office, according to data from the GovSpend portal.
The spending means President Tinubu and his team exceeded the 2.49bn naira travel budget allocated for the entirety of 2023 by 36%.
Although the president inherited the budget halfway through 2023, "he spent more than what was apportioned for the whole year between June and December 2023".
President Tinubu's administration came under fire after his government sponsored over 400 people to attend last year's COP28 climate conference in Dubai.
In June 2023, just three weeks after assuming office, President Bola Tinubu travelled to Paris for a two-day climate summit. He had already been there months earlier “to rest” and plan the transition shortly after being elected president.
From Paris he went on to the UK for private talks with his predecessor, who had also travelled to “rest” after the elections.
A week later, Mr Tinubu went to Guinea-Bissau for a meeting of West African bloc Ecowas, followed by a trip to Nairobi, Kenya.
In August, the Nigerian President visited Benin, and in September India, the United Arab Emirates and the US for the UN General Assembly before returning to Paris, France.
President Bola Tinubu was in Nigeria for the whole of October before resuming travels with a trip to Saudi Arabia, then Guinea-Bissau and Germany at the end of November and a week later travelled to Dubai.
The Nigerian Head of state did not slow down this year either, jetting in and out of Nigeria in a frequency that has attracted huge criticism.
