Tinubu’s Return to Nigeria Postponed Again, Now Expected Tuesday
President Bola Tinubu has postponed his return to Nigeria for a second time, after a last-minute change to his travel plans pushed his expected arrival from this past weekend to Tuesday, September 29, according to presidential sources cited by TheCable.
Tinubu had originally been expected back in the country over the weekend, following an earlier extension of his stay in Europe announced by the Presidency on September 21. As of Sunday morning, the specific reason behind the latest adjustment to his itinerary had not been disclosed. According to sources, the president is still expected to arrive first in Lagos, where he may remain for up to a week before proceeding to the capital, Abuja. His return would come two days before Nigeria marks its 66th Independence anniversary on October 1.
Tinubu departed Nigeria on August 30 for London, where the Presidency described the trip as a three-week working vacation forming part of his annual leave. After spending roughly a week in the United Kingdom, he travelled on to Paris, France, where he held engagements with French President Emmanuel Macron and businessman Vincent Bolloré. The Presidency has maintained throughout his time abroad that Tinubu remained in regular contact with officials at home and continued to direct government affairs remotely, with Vice President Kashim Shettima representing him at various official functions during his absence.
Shettima’s own travel added a further layer to the situation, as he departed for New York on September 20 to represent Nigeria at the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), leaving both the president and vice president outside the country simultaneously for a period. The Presidency has said Shettima carried Tinubu’s full mandate at the UN gathering and was expected to deliver Nigeria’s national statement on his behalf.
The latest delay marks the second postponement of Tinubu’s return and means his time away from Nigeria has now stretched considerably beyond the three weeks originally announced by the Presidency. The extended absence has continued to generate constitutional debate, with opposition figures questioning whether presidential authority ought to have been formally transferred to Shettima under Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution, which provides that the president must transmit a written declaration to the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives before proceeding on vacation, after which the vice president assumes presidential functions in an acting capacity. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar was among those who questioned Tinubu’s absence from the UN General Assembly, noting that Shettima had also represented the president at the 2024 and 2025 editions of the gathering.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio addressed the growing debate earlier in the week, insisting there was no vacancy in Aso Rock and that Tinubu remained fully in charge of government affairs despite his physical absence from the country. This marks Tinubu’s first major annual leave of 2026, following a previous vacation in September 2025 that lasted about ten working days in Europe. As of the time of reporting, the Presidency had not issued further comment on the reason for the latest change to the president’s travel schedule, with his arrival back in Nigeria now expected Tuesday.
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