Nigeria’s President-Elect, Bola Tinubu has returned to the West African country after over one month away in Europe.
The aircraft that conveyed the former Lagos State governor touched down at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja at 04:30pm on Monday.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwart, who was officially out of Nigeria since March 22, returned about one month before his inauguration on May 29, 2023.
He returned with his wife, Senator Oluremi; and they were received by the Vice-President-Elect, Kashim Shettima; Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; amongst many other high-ranking members of the party.
The President-Elect was received by a cheery crowd of supporters decked up in party paraphernalia.
Tinubu scored the highest votes in the February 25 poll and was declared the President-Elect by the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), though his victory is currently being vigorously challenged at the tribunal by two top contestants — Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
On March 22, after controversy surrounded his whereabouts, Tinubu’s spokesman, Tunde Rahman said his principal travelled to Paris in France to rest and observe the lesser hajj but no photo of the President-Elect was made public while he was away.
Tinubu’s health has been a subject of controversy in the last two years. In 2021, Tinubu was away in the United Kingdom for over three months where he underwent surgery and therapy for a knee injury. He subsequently travelled to the UK and Paris a few times in 2022.
