President Bola Tinubu on Monday met with billionaire businessman Femi Otedola at a private dinner in Paris, France, amid continued attention over the President’s extended stay in Europe.
Otedola disclosed the meeting in a post on his X account on Tuesday, sharing a photograph of himself and Tinubu smiling together.
The businessman expressed support for Tinubu’s economic policies and highlighted what he described as gains recorded from the administration’s reforms.
“At a private dinner in Paris yesterday evening with His Excellency, President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whose bold and forward-thinking reforms have put our economy firmly on a path of sustainable growth,” Otedola wrote.
He pointed to the inclusion of leading Nigerian companies in the FTSE Russell Frontier 50 Index, the performance of the Nigerian Exchange, increased foreign direct investment and what he described as renewed confidence in the Nigerian economy.
Otedola also cited what he called a “unified and more stable foreign exchange market” and said the country’s foreign reserves were “standing strong at about $55 billion”.
He added, “I remain proud of you, Mr. President!”
The meeting comes as Tinubu’s prolonged stay abroad and his absence from the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York continue to generate public attention.
Tinubu left Nigeria on August 30 for London for what the Presidency initially described as a three-week working vacation. He later travelled to Paris, where he met French President Emmanuel Macron and businessman Vincent Bolloré.
On September 21, the Presidency announced that Tinubu’s stay had been extended by “a few days”, with his return initially expected at the weekend.
However, presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga announced on September 27 that the President would return on Tuesday, September 29, arriving in Lagos ahead of Nigeria’s Independence Day celebrations on October 1.
Tinubu’s extended stay abroad and decision not to attend the UN General Assembly have attracted criticism from opposition groups and some Nigerians.
A faction of the Peoples Democratic Party criticised the extension of the President’s vacation and his absence from the UN gathering, while the African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council also called for an explanation over his continued stay abroad.
The 81st UN General Assembly marked Tinubu’s third consecutive absence from the annual gathering. Vice-President Kashim Shettima represented Nigeria and delivered the country’s national statement.
The Presidency, however, maintained that Tinubu’s absence would not diminish Nigeria’s diplomatic standing or its role in African affairs.
