Tinubu Returns Today, May Present Ministerial List After Sallah

There are reports that President Bola Tinubu is set to fly in from London today ahead of the Eid-el-Kabir celebrations.

The Presidency announced on Saturday that the President was on his way to the United Kingdom from France, where he was attending a summit for ‘A New Global Financing Pact’ organized by French President Emmanuel Macron.

“Tinubu, who was originally scheduled to return to Abuja on Saturday, will now proceed to London, United Kingdom, for a brief private visit,” the President’s Special Adviser on Special Duties, Communication, and Strategy, Dele Alake, said in a statement on Saturday.

The statement did not provide a date for Tinubu’s return, only that the “President will be back in the country in time for the upcoming Eid-el-Kabir festival.”

Presidency sources confirmed to our correspondent on Monday that the Nigerian leader would return to his private Ikoyi house in Lagos later on Tuesday to celebrate his first Sallah as President.

“I am confident that he will return to Lagos tomorrow (Tuesday) rather than Abuja.” That is where he will observe Sallah, according to the source.

In April, it was reported that the absence of the President-elect from the Eid el-Fitr celebrations elicited varied emotions.

Despite issuing a statement communicating his Sallah message to Nigerians, the then-President-elect was not seen on any prayer sites in Lagos or Abuja.

According to sources, he would join other dignitaries for Eid prayers at the Obalende Muslim Prayer Ground, which is located near Dodan Barracks, the former headquarters of the Nigerian government.

Former President Muhammadu Buhari directed that the authority of the Obalende Eid Prayer Ground be returned to the Lagos Jama’atul Muslimeen Council of the Lagos Central Mosque just hours before his departure.

According to a Presidency source, “the holiday lasts until Thursday, but Tinubu may extend his stay until Sunday or Monday next week before returning to Abuja.”

Tinubu’s cabinet would be formed within one month of taking office, according to Alake, then Special Adviser to the President-elect.

According to Alake, this is in accordance with the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution, which requires Presidents-elect and governors-elect to submit the names of their ministerial and commissioner-nominees for confirmation by the Senate or state House of Assembly within 60 days of taking the oath of office.

“I told you in an earlier interview that Asiwaju formed his cabinet as governor in less than three weeks,” he stated.

“That was the case at the time.” I believe 60 days is excessive.