Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has changed his itinerary to facilitate a “private visit”.
Tinubu, who was among the African leaders in Paris for a two-day summit on global financing, has travelled to London from the French capital.
He was supposed to return to Abuja from Paris on Saturday after the conclusion of the seminar held on Thursday and Friday.
On Friday, the president’s communications adviser, Dele Alake, said in a statement that there was a change in Tinubu’s travel plans.
“President Tinubu, who was initially scheduled to be back in Abuja on Saturday, will now proceed to London, United Kingdom for a short private visit,” he said.
“The president will be back in the country in time for the upcoming Eid-el-Kabir festival [on June 28],” added Alake.
Frequent trips to Europe
In an earlier statement, Alake said Tinubu, who left for Paris on Tuesday, would return to Nigeria on Saturday.
Tinubu’s frequent trips to Europe have often sparked speculation about his health.
In March, shortly after his win in the presidential election, Tinubu flew to Europe. His aides said he had gone to “rest in Paris and London” after a tiring campaign period.
“The president-elect decided to take a break after the hectic campaign and election season to rest in Paris and London,” Tunde Rahman, Tinubu’s spokesperson, said in March.
In August 2021, Tinubu spent weeks at a London hospital, where he was receiving treatment.
He was visited in hospital by senior government officials from Nigeria, led by the then-president Muhammadu Buhari.
