President Bola Ahmed Tinubu spent 22 days outside Nigeria in January 2026 alone, according to a review of his officially announced foreign trips.
Within the period, the President visited France, the United Arabs Emirates and the Republic of Türkiye.
The President’s foreign trips have drawn flak from civil society groups and opposition political parties which alleged that spending that number of days abroad reflects misplaced priorities at a time when Nigeria faces some domestic challenges.
They described what they called the President’s “long” stay abroad as excessive and potentially counterproductive, alleging that the trips divert attention and public resources away from critical areas such as insecurity, education, healthcare and infrastructure.
They also alleged that many of the agreements signed during the President’s foreign trips have not translated into tangible benefits for Nigerians.
But the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, described the president’s trips as a sacrifice made in the national interest.
On January 31, 2026, President Tinubu returned to Abuja from a week long state visit to the Republic of Türkiye after spending six days in the European country.
Before then, the president had spent the first 10 days of the year in Paris before arriving in Abu Dhabi (UAE) on January 11 for the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week Summit.
From Abu Dhabi, the president returned to Nigeria on January 17 and stayed in the country till 26 before jetting out to the Republic of Türkiye for a state visit where he spent another six days before returning on January 31.
During the president’s trip to Abu Dhabi for the 2026 edition of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, Nigeria signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) under which the UAE will eliminate tariffs on over 7,000 products for Nigerian exporters in the areas of agricultural and industrial products.
The president embarked on a state visit to the Republic of Türkiye last Monday and returned on Saturday. While in Turkiye, officials from both countries signed agreements on diaspora policy, defence cooperation, joint declaration establishing the economy and trade joint committee, halal quality infrastructure, higher education, media and communication, diplomacy academy, among others.
@Daily Trust, excluding part of the headline
