PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s planned departure for a high-profile two-nation tour to Japan and Brazil has been shifted to Friday, contrary to the earlier announcement that he would leave on Thursday.
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, had initially told reporters that Tinubu would depart Abuja on Thursday with a brief stopover in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, before continuing to Japan.
However, sources inside the Presidential Villa revealed that the President instead spent Thursday in Abuja attending to pressing official engagements, including a meeting with Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
While there has been no official statement explaining the change in travel plans, multiple presidency sources confirmed that the trip will now commence on Friday.
In Japan, Tinubu is scheduled to participate in the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9) in Yokohama from August 20 to 22, before heading to Brazil.
His delegation will include key ministers and senior government officials tasked with deepening bilateral relations and forging strategic economic partnerships.
Presidency insiders describe the visits as pivotal to Tinubu’s agenda of expanding Nigeria’s global economic footprint, attracting foreign direct investment, and securing technology and infrastructure deals.
Japan’s advanced technology sector and Brazil’s increasing trade links with Africa are seen as potential leverage points for Nigeria’s economic transformation.
However, the trip has sparked strong criticism from the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and prominent opposition figures, who accuse the President of prioritising international appearances over pressing domestic crises.
The ADC, through its National Publicity Secretary Bolaji Abdullahi, claimed that Tinubu’s upcoming journey would mark his 40th international trip in just 26 months—amounting to approximately 181 days abroad, or nearly a quarter of his presidency.
“This means that in the 26 months he has been President, nearly 25% of his time has been spent outside the country,” the ADC stated. “Since inauguration, President Tinubu has visited more foreign countries than Nigerian states, just 13 out of 36 yet insecurity, poverty, and malnutrition remain unaddressed.”
The party further argued that the billions of naira reportedly spent on such trips have yielded “no real economic gains” and criticised the lack of appointed ambassadors to follow up on international agreements.
Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, also delivered a sharp critique, accusing Tinubu of treating Nigeria like a “stopover lounge” while the nation faces deepening crises.
In a statement on X (formerly Twitter), Obi wrote: “Mr President is not a tourist. He is the Chief Executive of a troubled nation, and his duty is here, not in endless foreign conferences that add little or no value to our people.”
Obi questioned the timing and length of Tinubu’s overseas engagements, recalling his extended stay in St Lucia before the BRICS Summit earlier this year. “The Japan event starts on the 20th, yet our President is leaving on the 14th,” he noted.
He urged the President to channel his travel efforts into touring Nigeria’s most distressed states, directly engaging with citizens, and taking urgent action.