Tinubu flies out of Nigeria again with aides saying he needs to plan without any distractions

NIGERIA'S president-elect Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has flown to Europe for what his aides are calling a working visit to enable him fine-tune his transition plans and policy options with some of his key aides without any distractions.

Only last month, Asiwaju Tinubu returned to Nigeria on Monday April 24 from a lengthy sojourn abroad that saw him go on holiday in France. Apparently, while abroad, he was  planning his transition programme ahead of the May 29 handover date but to the surprise of everyone, he has flown out of the country again.

According to sources close to the president-elect, while in Europe, Asiwaju Tinubu will work on his programmes and policy options with his aides without distraction. During the visit, he will also engage with investors and other key allies, with the goal of marketing investment opportunities in the country and projecting his administration’s readiness to enable a business-friendly climate through policies and regulations.

Tunde Rahman, Asiwaju Tinubu's spokesman, said: “Already, meetings with multi-sectoral actors in Europe’s business community including manufacturing, agriculture, tech and energy have been lined up. Asiwaju Tinubu hopes to convince them of Nigeria’s readiness to do business under his leadership through mutually-beneficial partnerships premised on job creation and skills acquisition.

“Reviving the country’s economy forms a major plank of Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda and the meeting is 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. The president-elect has hitherto promised to hit the ground running and the visit is 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, Asiwaju 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 before he flew out for the trip, which he is expected to return from just before May 29.