Tinubu Returns To Nigeria After Two Weeks In Europe, Saudi Arabia

 President Bola Tinubu has returned to Abuja after a two-week absence from the country, following an official visit to the Kingdom of the Netherlands and attending a special World Economic Forum meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

During his visit to the Netherlands, Tinubu held separate meetings with King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima and participated in the Nigerian-Dutch Business and Investment Forum.

The President's trip to Saudi Arabia was themed "Global Collaboration, Growth, and Energy for Development," which brought together leaders from various sectors to discuss global development strategies.

After the conclusion of the summit, the President's whereabouts remained undisclosed, with the presidency providing no information while speculation arose regarding a potential private visit to Europe.

However, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, confirmed Tinubu's return to the country. Onanuga stated that foreign investment in Nigeria's stock market has ballooned, from N18.12 billion in Q1 2023 to N93.37 billion in Q1 2024, an increase of 415 percent.

The last time Nigeria saw such level of investment was in the first quarter of 2019, when N97.6 billion was invested.

The market, since Tinubu came to power, has broken records and created more wealth for the investors. Moreover, different sectors of the economy have been attracting new Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) from discerning investors, who were convinced that Nigeria was a good market for bountiful returns.

These sectors include telecoms, manufacturing, solid minerals, oil and gas, e-commerce, and fintech. During Tinubu's recent trip to The Netherlands, the Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, announced a fresh $250 million investment by Dutch businesses in Nigeria.

The presidency has also claimed that the Tinubu administration, within its first year, had attracted over $20 billion into the economy, in addition to securing over $14 billion in new investments from Indian business leaders when Tinubu was in New Delhi, India, for G20 Summit last year.

The presidency accused Atiku of distortion of facts to hoodwink the public, in response to his criticisms of Tinubu's globetrotting for foreign direct investments and other economic policies.