Tinubu attended the World Economic Forum’s (WEF’s) Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy for Development in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and spoke on Sunday, April 28, 2024.
The two-day forum, which began on Sunday and ended on Monday, 29th April 2024, was aimed at helping public and private sector leaders address shared global challenges.
Also, there has been no official statement from the Presidency or the president’s handlers to state his whereabouts or what was holding his return to Nigeria.
This development has sparked speculations in some quarters that the President may have proceeded on a medical trip to France.
![President of Benin Republic, Patrice Talon visits President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Paris. [Presidency]](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf8,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg'%20width%3D'790'%20height%3D'564'%20data-ring-placeholder%3D'1'%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E "President of Benin Republic, Patrice Talon visits President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Paris. [Presidency]")
Over the years, Tinubu has made the European country his choice destination for medical and leisure trips.
Between the time he was elected in March 2022 and now, the President has made no fewer than three trips to France for official and personal purposes.
His last private trip to Paris was last January when he spent two weeks in the French capital before returning to Nigeria on Tuesday, February 6, 2024.
Presidency says no cause for alarm about Tinubu
As reported by Daily Trust, credible sources in the Presidency have claimed that Tinubu proceeded to London from Saudi Arabia.
The highly-placed sources also allayed fears over Tinubu’s health, insisting that the President is hale and hearty.
He “is at the moment in London on a private visit,” the paper quoted one of the sources.
When asked about the reason for the President’s visit, the anonymous source declined further comments.
“I really don’t know, he (the president) has left Saudi Arabia and he should be in London now, but I don’t have details.
“I don’t have an idea about it (the purpose of the president’s trip to London), but I think it is a private visit,” the official said.
![Tinubu travelled to the Netherlands [Presidency]](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf8,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg'%20width%3D'790'%20height%3D'527'%20data-ring-placeholder%3D'1'%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E "Tinubu travelled to the Netherlands [Presidency]")
Another source from the Presidential Villa said there was no cause for alarm about Tinubu’s whereabouts.
Though he refused to disclose the President’s location, the top government official assured that he will be back in the country “this weekend.”
Tinubu to connect Saudi Arabia from the Netherlands
Tinubu travelled to Saudi Arabia from the Netherlands where he had visited for a state visit.
He departed Abuja on April 23, 2024, for the European country.
Ajuri Ngelale, his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, announced that the visit was at the invitation of Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
Ngelale added that the President would also proceed to attend the WEF meeting in Saudi Arabia.
