Tinubu Departs Nigeria for Europe on Working Visit

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

Exactly 16 days after he returned to the country from France, where he had gone to rest, the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, yesterday, left Nigeria for Europe on a working visit.

In a statement by the Office of the President-elect and signed by Tunde Rahman, the specific country that the president-elect was visiting was not mentioned.

Tinubu returned to Nigeria on April 24, after a one-month rest in France. He had left the country for France on Tuesday, March 21 to rest and plan the transition programme ahead of his inauguration on May 29.

His media office had in a statement in March, explained that the president-elect decided to take a break after the hectic campaign and election season to rest in Paris and London, preparatory to going to Saudi Arabia for Umrah (Lesser Hajj) and the Ramadan Fasting.

The statement also added that while away, the president-elect would also use the opportunity to plan his transition programme.

But after returning to the country, Tinubu held a series of meetings with party leaders and stakeholders to work out the zoning arrangement for the 10th National Assembly leadership.

The zoning arrangement was currently causing ripples within the party.

While in the country, the president-elect’s only public engagement was his two-day visit to Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where he commissioned the Rumuola/Rumuokwuta Flyover and the ultra-modern Magistrates’ Court Complex.

Meanwhile,  Rahman said the president-elect would use the opportunity of the trip to finetune the transition plans and programmes, and his policy options with some of his key aides without unnecessary pressures and distractions.

He further noted that during the visit, the president-elect would engage with investors and other key allies with the goal of marketing investment opportunities in the country and his administration’s readiness to enable a business-friendly climate through policies and regulations.

He said Tinubu hoped to convince them of Nigeria’s readiness to do business under his leadership through mutually-beneficial partnerships premised on jobs creation and skills acquisition.

Rahman said, already, meetings with multi-sectoral actors in Europe’s business community including manufacturing, agriculture, tech and energy have been lined up.

According to him, Reviving the country’s economy formed a major plank of Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda and the meeting was part of his efforts to re-establish Nigeria’s importance in the global economic chain and create empowering opportunities for the country’s huge youth population.

Rahman stressed that the president-elect had hitherto promised to hit the ground running, adding that the visit was reflective of his commitment to the promise as he has already begun talks with global actors in the important areas of the economy and security.

Before he left the country, Tinubu met with the House of Representatives candidates for Speaker and Deputy Speaker endorsed by his party, the All Progressives Congress, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas and Hon. Benjamin Kalu, who were presented to him by the Joint Task Team of the House.