President Bola Tinubu on Monday met billionaire businessman Femi Otedola at a private dinner in Paris, France, as the President continues his 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 side by side.
The businessman expressed support for Tinubu’s economic policies, highlighting what he described as gains 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 cited 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 investor confidence.
Otedola also pointed to what he called a “unified and more stable foreign exchange market” and said Nigeria’s foreign reserves were “standing strong at about $55 billion.”
“I remain proud of you, Mr President!” he added.
The meeting comes amid continued public attention to Tinubu’s prolonged stay abroad and his absence from the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Tinubu left Nigeria on August 30 for London to begin what the Presidency described as a three-week working vacation. He subsequently travelled to Paris, where he met French President Emmanuel Macron and businessman Vincent Bolloré.
On September 21, the Presidency announced that Tinubu’s stay abroad had been extended by a few days, with his return initially expected at the weekend. The schedule was later adjusted, with presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga confirming on September 27 that the President would return to Nigeria on Tuesday, September 29, ahead of the country’s Independence Day celebrations on October 1.
Tinubu’s prolonged stay abroad and absence from the UN General Assembly have attracted criticism from opposition groups and other Nigerians.
A faction of the Peoples Democratic Party criticised the extension of the President’s stay abroad and his decision not to attend the UN gathering, while the African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council also demanded an explanation for his continued absence.
The 81st UN General Assembly marked Tinubu’s third consecutive absence from the annual gathering. Vice President Kashim Shettima represented Nigeria at the meeting and delivered the country’s national statement.
The Presidency has maintained that Tinubu’s absence from the UN General Assembly would not diminish Nigeria’s diplomatic standing or its role in African affairs.
