President Bola Ahmed Tinubu spent a total of 22 days abroad in January 2026 alone, according to a review of his officially announced foreign trips.
During this period, he visited France, the United Arab Emirates, and the Republic of Türkiye.
The president’s overseas trips have faced criticism from civil society groups and opposition parties, who argued that spending so many days outside Nigeria shows misplaced priorities amid domestic challenges.
They called the president’s extended stays abroad excessive and potentially counterproductive, claiming that these trips divert attention and public funds from urgent areas like insecurity, education, healthcare, and infrastructure.
Critics also argued that many agreements signed during his foreign visits have yet to deliver tangible benefits for Nigerians.
However, the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, described the president’s travels as a necessary sacrifice in the interest of the nation.
On January 31, 2026, President Tinubu returned to Abuja after a week-long state visit to Türkiye, which followed six days spent in Europe.
Earlier in January, he spent the first ten days of the year in Paris before travelling to Abu Dhabi on January 11 for the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week Summit.
From Abu Dhabi, he returned to Nigeria on January 17 and remained in the country until January 26, before heading to Türkiye for a state visit, where he spent another six days before coming back on January 31.
During his visit to Abu Dhabi, Nigeria signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the UAE, which will remove tariffs on over 7,000 Nigerian agricultural and industrial products.
On his state visit to Türkiye, officials from both countries signed deals covering diaspora policy, defence cooperation, economic and trade joint committees, halal quality infrastructure, higher education, media and communications, and diplomacy academy, among others.
