Turkey Trip: Atiku’s Aide Raises Alarm Over Presidency’s Silence On Tinubu’s Return Date

Paul Ibe, media aide to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has raised concerns over what he described as a growing trend by the Presidency of withholding information about the return dates of President Bola Tinubu’s foreign trips.

It was earlier report that President Tinubu departed Abuja on Sunday, January 26, 2026, for a state visit to the Republic of Türkiye.

In a statement issued by the Presidency on Sunday, the visit was described as a multi-day diplomatic engagement aimed at strengthening bilateral relations between Nigeria and Türkiye across key sectors.

However, the statement did not specify the exact duration of the trip, noting only that the President would return “at the conclusion of the visit”.

Reacting in a post on X, Atiku’s media aide Paul Ibe criticised the lack of clarity, suggesting it had become a pattern whenever the President travels abroad.

“What is this new trend of not giving a date of the return of the President whenever he is travelling out?” he wrote.

In a sarcastic follow-up, he insinuated that the omission might be deliberate.

“Is it to see if a few days in France to lounge and drink piña colada with the French squad can be squeezed in?” he added.

President Bola Tinubu's state visit to the Republic of Turkey, which begins with his departure from Abuja today, January 26, 2026, is scheduled to be a multi-day diplomatic engagement.

While the Presidency's official statement issued on January 25, 2026, confirmed his departure… pic.twitter.com/UR11cSRx43

— Paul Ibe (@omonlakiki) January 26, 2026