The president’s departure comes days after Vice President Shettima returned early from his own two-week break, as both prepare for the 2027 campaign season.
President Bola Tinubu will commence a three-week leave today, departing Abuja for Europe as part of his annual vacation, presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga said on Sunday.
“His first stop will be London, United Kingdom,” Onanuga said, describing the trip as a working vacation. “President Tinubu is expected to return home after the working vacation to join the hectic campaign for the January 2027 election.”
A recurring pattern of Tinubu’s European leave
This is not Tinubu’s first extended break abroad since taking office. He first travelled to the UK for a two-week vacation in October 2024, before continuing to Paris, France, marking his first leave since assuming office in May 2023.
He returned to Europe again in April 2025 for a two-week working visit to Paris, during which his office said he would appraise his administration’s mid-term performance ahead of his second anniversary in government.
In September 2025, he took a further 10-day working vacation split between the UK and France, days after returning from a state visit to Brazil.
Each of these trips has been described by the presidency in similar terms, an opportunity for reflection on economic reforms alongside rest, with Tinubu’s office consistently stating he remains engaged with governance matters throughout.
Shettima’s leave concluded days earlier
Tinubu’s latest departure comes just days after Vice President Kashim Shettima returned from his own two-week leave, his first since assuming office, according to Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications in the Office of the Vice-President.
Shettima’s leave began on 6 August 2026 and was originally scheduled to run until 20 August, but he resumed duties two days early, on 18 August.
With both the president and vice-president having now taken their respective annual breaks in quick succession, Tinubu’s return is expected to signal the effective start of the ruling All Progressives Congress’s campaign push ahead of the January 2027 general election, a contest already drawing sharpening rhetoric from opposition figures including Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi.
