Tinubu’s Lagos arrival brings hours of traffic disruption around airport

President Bola Tinubu’s return to Lagos from Paris caused heavy traffic around Murtala Muhammed International Airport and adjoining routes on Tuesday evening after security operatives restricted movement along his route. The restrictions began before 5pm, according to Premium Times, with congestion spreading around the airport and roads linking it to Lagos Island, Ikoyi and the Third Mainland Bridge. Motorists and commuters were reportedly stranded for hours.

Tinubu arrived after spending about four weeks in Europe on what the presidency described as a working vacation. His Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, announced the return earlier on Tuesday. Onanuga said the president chose to return through Lagos to honour the memory of MKO Abiola, whom the government recognises as the winner of the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election.

Tinubu was also due to attend the premiere of a film about Abiola at the Wole Soyinka National Theatre on Independence Day. Onanuga said the president would hold strategic meetings with political leaders and associates during his stay in Lagos in preparation for the 2027 elections. The traffic restrictions drew criticism from motorists and residents.

Lawyer Inibehe Effiong questioned whether presidential security could be managed without imposing prolonged delays on travellers, while other social-media users warned people to avoid the airport road. Some users defended the restrictions as normal security arrangements for heads of government. The disruption also revived former President Goodluck Jonathan’s account that he used helicopters in Lagos to avoid the traffic chaos caused by presidential movements.