According to sources, President-elect Bola Tinubu will return to Nigeria on Sunday from a working visit to France.
Tinubu had left the country a week before to concentrate on finalizing his transition programs and policy options with key aides away from unnecessary pressures and distractions.
In a statement issued last week, his media aide, Tunde Rahman, stated that Tinubu will meet with investors and allies while in France, with the goal of highlighting investment opportunities in Nigeria.
Before leaving, he met with Tajudeen Abbas and Benjamin Kalu, the All Progressives Congress-endorsed candidates for Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Meanwhile, multiple sources within Tinubu’s camp who spoke with Punch confirmed that he will return to the country on the eve of the Dangote Refinery complex’s official opening.
President Muhammadu Buhari is set to inaugurate the highly anticipated refinery, which has a capacity of 650,000 barrels of oil per day, on May 22.
The Dangote Refinery, located in Lagos’ expansive Lekki Free Zone, is the world’s largest single-train refinery, covering a vast land area of approximately 2,635 hectares.
This land area is larger than the well-known Victoria Island in Lagos.
Nigerians are hopeful that the multibillion-dollar oil refinery and petrochemical company will alleviate the country’s long-standing refining challenges, with reports indicating that the refinery has been completed and pre-inauguration tests are underway.
Asiwaju may be returning on Sunday just in time to meet up with the official launch of the Dangote refinery in Lagos. There is no way he will miss such an opportunity for anything in the world, a source revealed.
Tinubu is particularly interested in the event because it takes place in Lagos, his hometown. He is also scheduled to deliver a speech during the inauguration ceremony, alongside President Buhari and other prominent African and global business leaders.
Another anonymous APC official stated that Tinubu is under a lot of pressure and is eager to get started.
Tinubu’s highly anticipated cabinet list is also ready, according to the politician, and may be officially unveiled following his inauguration on May 29.
Asiwaju is anxious to hit the ground after his swearing-in ceremony. Although it has not been made official, I learned his cabinet list is ready and would be released after the May 29 inauguration. But as I told you earlier, it is his prerogative to decide who should be included in his list of ministers and heads of agencies, the politician explained.
The Director of Media and Publicity for the dissolved APC Presidential Campaign Council, Bayo Onanuga confirmed that Tinubu would deliver a paper at the opening ceremony of the Dangote refinery.
However, he expressed uncertainty about the president-elect’s exact return date to the country.
I am not aware of when the president-elect will return. But I know he is supposed to deliver a paper at the opening ceremony of the Dangote refinery complex, Onanuga stated.