Arise Television’s Morning Show anchor, Rufai Oseni, has questioned President Bola Tinubu’s continued stay outside Nigeria, saying the President could run the country remotely from France if that is what he chooses to do.
Oseni made the comments on Tuesday while discussing Tinubu’s latest foreign trip and his continued absence from Nigeria.
The television presenter said Nigerians should not be surprised by the President’s frequent trips abroad, arguing that voters elected Tinubu despite his preference for spending extended periods outside the country.
“You get what you vote for, and I don’t know why Nigerians are complaining,” Oseni said.
According to him, Tinubu has repeatedly demonstrated that he is comfortable spending considerable periods abroad.
Oseni referred to the President’s earlier trip at the beginning of the year, which he said lasted more than 20 days, and compared it with Tinubu’s current stay in Europe.
“President Tinubu has shown you that he’s constantly going to be away, that he is more at peace in France than any part of the world. So you voted him in,” he said.
The Presidency announced on Monday that Tinubu had extended his working vacation by a few days and would return to Nigeria at the weekend. The President left the country on August 30 for London before travelling to Paris, where he held meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron and businessman Vincent Bolloré.
Oseni also questioned the financial implications of the President’s foreign travels and whether they had produced measurable investments for Nigeria.
He referenced reports putting presidential travel-related spending at about N37 billion and said his concern was not simply the amount spent but what Nigeria had gained from the trips.
“At least, if you are going to burn N37 billion on your foreign trips, like they said he burnt, how much investment came back to Nigeria?” he asked.
Oseni said he was not referring to investment announcements, intentions or memoranda of understanding but actual investments that had reached their final destination.
“I’m talking about final investment destination. So it’s the cost-benefit ratio that I’m more concerned about,” he added.
Reports based on GovSpend data have put presidential travel-related expenditure between June 2023 and April 2026 at about N37.64 billion, although such figures cover specified travel, logistics and foreign-exchange expenses and do not necessarily represent the complete cost of every presidential trip.
37 Miners’ Deaths
The Arise TV presenter also criticised Tinubu’s continued absence from Nigeria following the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in Niger State.
Oseni argued that the incident could have warranted the President’s physical return to the country to demonstrate his presence and lead the government’s response.
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He said Tinubu could have returned “even for the sake of optics” and publicly demonstrated that he was on the ground to oversee the response and investigation.
The Presidency, however, has said Tinubu remained in contact with officials and continued directing government affairs while abroad. It also said the President ordered an independent panel to investigate the deaths of the miners following their detention by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
Oseni ultimately argued that if Tinubu believes he can effectively govern from outside Nigeria, then he should continue doing so.
“But if he thinks he can direct from abroad, I mean, even the likes of his spokespeople have said he can direct from abroad. He can work anywhere. He can even run the country remotely,” he said.
He added that Tinubu could choose France as his base for running the country if that was his preference, insisting that Nigerians had voted for his administration.