President Bola Ahmed Tinubu returned to Nigeria on Tuesday evening after spending about four weeks in Europe on a working vacation, declaring that he is in good health and ready to resume work.

The presidential aircraft, arriving from Paris, France, landed at the Presidential Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, at about 6:22 p.m.

Responding to questions from journalists about his health, President Tinubu said he was “hale and strong” and ready to work.

Journalists at the airport were reportedly barred from taking visuals of the President's arrival.

President Tinubu left Abuja on August 30 for what the Presidency initially described as a three-week annual vacation. He spent a week in London before proceeding to Paris, where he held a private dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron and met with business leaders. His stay was subsequently extended by several days.

His extended absence attracted public attention, particularly after he did not attend the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York. Vice President Kashim Shettima represented Nigeria at the gathering and delivered the country's national statement.

The Presidency maintained that President Tinubu remained in contact with officials in Nigeria and continued to direct the affairs of government while abroad.

In a statement on Tuesday, the President's Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said President Tinubu chose to return through Lagos to honour the memory of late businessman and politician MKO Abiola ahead of Nigeria's Independence Day celebrations.

The President is expected to attend the premiere of a film honouring Abiola, the winner of the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election, at the Wole Soyinka National Theatre, Iganmu, on October 1.

Onanuga also said President Tinubu would hold strategic meetings with political leaders and associates in Lagos over the coming days in preparation for the 2027 elections, before returning to Abuja.

Last week, the President witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ogun State Government and DP World for the development of a Gateway deep seaport in Ogun Waterside and a Blue Marine Economic Zone.

President Tinubu's return comes ahead of Nigeria's 66th Independence Anniversary, which will be marked on Thursday, October 1.