Tinubu heads to France from UK

President Bola Tinubu on Friday departed London, United Kingdom, for Paris, France.

Ibrahim Masari, the president’s senior special assistant on political and other matters, disclosed this in a post on his X account on Friday.

“Today, I had the honour of visiting President Asiwaju Bola Tinubu GCFR at his private residence in the United Kingdom, where we engaged in productive discussions. We then departed for Paris, France, for another important engagement,” Masari posted on X.

Bayo Onanuga, the special adviser information and strategy to the president, also made a post on his X account on Friday evening, saying that his principal is still on leave and not restricted to the UK. Onanuga, however, didn’t disclose the president’s current location.

“President Tinubu is on leave for two weeks. He is not restricted to the UK. It is his private time. He can go to anywhere he so desires. He is still observing his leave,” Onanuga said.

Recall that Tinubu departed Abuja for London on October 2, for a two-week working vacation in the UK as part of his annual leave.

The annual leave comes amid a worsening economic crisis at home. The removal of the fuel subsidy Tinubu has led to a significant rise in petrol prices from N198 to N1,030 in 18 months. The administration also unified the exchange rate, which has led to an astronomical rise in the value of the naira to the US dollar, sparking widespread economic hardship.

France has become Tinubu’s 28th foreign destination since he assumed office about 18 months ago and his fourth trip there.

So far, he has visited Equatorial Guinea, London, the United Kingdom (four times); Bissau, Guinea-Bissau (twice); Nairobi, Kenya; Porto Norvo, Benin Republic; Pretoria, South Africa; Accra, Ghana; New Delhi, India; Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates; New York, the United States of America; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (twice); Berlin, Germany; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Dakar, Senegal and Doha, Qatar, as per Punch.