President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is off to Paris, capital of France, on a “private visit”.
According to Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, from Frane, the president would move to Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, for the forthcoming African Union Summit.
“In Addis Ababa, President Tinubu will join African leaders at the 46th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council and the 38th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the AU Heads of State, scheduled from February 12th to 16th, 2025.”
“The president will arrive in Addis Ababa early next week for the African Union summit. While in France, President Tinubu will meet with his French counterpart, President Emmanuel Macron,” Onanuga said in a statement.
Tinubu’s trips abroad have come under public scrutiny on the back of the economic hardship in the country, with Nigerians raising concerns over his large entourage.
There have also been arguments whether such trips had attracted commensurate benefits and investments for the country.
But while appearing on a Channels Television programme a few weeks ago, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, had said Nigeria is rich enough to fund the president’s frequent foreign trips.
He had said Tinubu, contrary to the complaints, even needed to embark on more trips because of its strategic importance and inherent benefits to the country.The minister noted that Tinubu could only strengthen ties with fellow global leaders in his quest to set the country on the right path.
He had said, “It is not a fair assessment. The administration is still new because the President was sworn in in 2023. In global terms, he is still a new president. He needs to interact with his colleagues and fellow heads of state to be able to establish relationships.
“You can further see the fruits of these trips and their benefits which attracted $2bn (worth) of investments like he did in Brazil. In fact, I would venture to say we are not travelling enough. We should do more.
“Nigeria has the money. How much does travelling cost compared to the benefits? Again, how much does it cost really when you compare it to some of the things that the President has already addressed?“How much have we wasted on fuel, electricity and other subsidies? He was subsidising consumption instead of production and subsidising the real sector of the economy,” he added.
Since assuming office in 2023, Tinubu has reportedly visited about 19 countries on 32 foreign trips.