The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, on Sunday, justified President Bola Tinubu’s frequent travel abroad, saying he needs to embark on more trips because of its inherent benefits.
As a guest on Channels Television’s Sunday Today, Tuggar defended the President, saying it is normal for a new leader to seek opportunities and strengthen ties with fellow leaders across the globe.
He also emphasised that when compared to what the country has benefited so far, the President needs to be allowed to travel more.
The minister said: ‘It is not a fair assessment. The administration is still new because the President was sworn in in 2023. In global terms, he is still a new president. He needs to interact with his colleagues and fellow heads of state to be able to establish relationships.
‘You can also see the fruits of these trips and their benefits. So you travelled once and got $2 billion (worth) of investments like he did in Brazil. In fact, I would venture to say we are not travelling enough. We should do more’.
When reminded that Nigeria does not have the money required for such frequent trips, the minister disagreed.
‘Nigeria has the money. How much does travelling cost compared to the benefits? Again, how much does it cost really when you compare it to some of the things that the President has already addressed?
‘How much have we wasted on fuel, electricity and other subsidies? He was subsidising consumption instead of production and subsidising the real sector of the economy’, he added.
In the past 19 months in office, President Tinubu has visited 19 countries on 32 foreign trips.
Among the countries visited were Paris, France (thrice); Malabo, Equatorial Guinea; London, the United Kingdom (four times); Bissau, Guinea-Bissau (twice); Nairobi, Kenya; Porto Norvo, Benin Republic; The Hague, Netherlands; Pretoria, South Africa; Accra, Ghana.
Others included New Delhi, India; Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates; New York, the United States of America; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (twice); Berlin, Germany; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Dakar, Senegal and Doha, Qatar.
