Daud Olatunji
President Bola Tinubu has left Nigeria for a three-week vacation in Europe as political activities ahead of the 2027 general elections gather momentum.
The President’s media aide, Sunday Dare, said on Sunday that the break was necessary for Tinubu to rest and “refuel” ahead of what he described as an intense period of political campaigning.
Dare, the Presidential Adviser on Media and Public Communications, spoke with journalists shortly after the President departed Abuja.
According to him, Tinubu had spent the past six to seven months dealing with major national issues, including security and economic matters, and needed time away before the next phase of political activities.
He said the 2027 campaign season had effectively begun, with the President expected to combine governance with extensive campaign activities in the coming months.
“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,” Dare said.
He added, “At this point, the campaign season has just started. We have four, five months of serious campaigning. Of course, governance will still continue.
“And at this point, it’s important that the President also refuels.”
Dare, however, stressed that the vacation would not amount to a complete disengagement from government affairs.
He said Tinubu would continue to receive regular briefings from ministers, service chiefs and other senior officials responsible for critical national decisions while abroad.
“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 an earlier announcement by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, that the President would spend three weeks in Europe as part of his 2026 annual leave.
Onanuga said London, United Kingdom, would be Tinubu’s first destination.
He also disclosed that the President would return to Nigeria after the working vacation to participate in the campaign for the January 2027 election.
The President’s trip comes barely two weeks after Vice-President Kashim Shettima returned from his own leave.
Shettima had commenced a two-week vacation on August 6 but returned on August 18, two days earlier than scheduled.
His office had said the leave was intended to provide time for “study, reflection and intellectual renewal.”
Tinubu’s European trip comes at a politically significant period, with parties and political actors intensifying preparations for the 2027 elections.
The President is expected to resume full political engagements after the vacation while continuing to oversee the adinistration’s affairs.
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