Muhammed Abubakar, Reporting
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has extended his working vacation by a few days and is now expected back in Nigeria at the weekend, the Presidency announced on Monday.
The President departed Nigeria on 30 August for London to begin his working holiday, before travelling on to Paris after spending a week in the United Kingdom.
During his stay in the French capital, Mr Tinubu met with President Emmanuel Macron and the businessman Vincent Bollore, whose media group counts Canal+, Multichoice and Universal Music Group among its holdings.
In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency insisted that Mr Tinubu had remained abreast of developments at home and continued to direct the affairs of government while abroad.
The statement said the President had, among other things, ordered an independent panel to investigate the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in Minna following their detention by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
Mr Tinubu has also delegated Vice President Kashim Shettima to represent him at a number of official engagements during his absence, the Presidency added.
Mr Shettima left Abuja on 20 September for New York to attend the 81st United Nations General Assembly, where he is representing the President and will deliver Nigeria’s national statement.
With the Vice President in New York, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume — who has also been standing in for the President at official events — will continue to do so.
On the political front, the Presidency said the Director-General of the Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abubakar Yari, had been leading prominent party leaders in consultations with traditional rulers across the country.
The Presidency also hit back at a statement by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, who questioned Mr Tinubu’s absence from the United Nations General Assembly and demanded an explanation.
It described Mr Atiku’s remarks, as well as those of a United States-based lobbying firm, as “baseless insinuation” and “irresponsible”.
“Vice President Shettima, who is representing the President at the global conference, will present Nigeria’s national statement,” the statement said.
