Tinubu Jets To S’Arabia For Lesser Hajj …Unveils Free Healthcare For Pensioners

President Bola Tinubu yesterday departed Abuja for Makkah in Saudi Arabia, to perform Umrah (lesser Hajj), an Islamic spiritual exercise involving a pilgrimage to the holy city.

The Airbus A330-200 carrying the president took off at 2:20 pm local time, yesterday.

Tinubu was seen off at the airport by the Governors of Kwara, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq; Borno, Babagana Zulum; Kaduna, Uba Sani; Sokoto, Ahmad Aliyu; Jigawa, Umar Namadi; and Yobe, Mai Mala Buni.

Also present were the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume; the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi; and Nigeria’s Ambassador to Mexico, Reno Omokri, alongside other government officials.

Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, had revealed this in a statement signed Wednesday titled ‘President Tinubu departs Abuja for Makkah to pray for the nation.’

According to the statement, the visit will afford the President an opportunity for spiritual reflection, devotion, and prayers for Nigeria’s peace, unity, stability, and continued progress.

“While in Makkah, President Tinubu will perform the religious rites associated with Umrah, seeking Allah’s guidance and blessings for Nigeria and its people,” the statement said.

Before departing Abuja, Tinubu commissioned some equipment acquired by the Nigerian Air Force for its operations at the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.

The President is expected to return to the country next week after completing the spiritual exercise.

Thursday’s visit to Makkah marks the second time Tinubu is performing Umrah since assuming office.

The President had previously visited the holy city in November 2023, shortly after the Saudi-African Summit held in Riyadh, where he also prayed for divine guidance in leading Nigeria.

The trip to Saudi Arabia is the latest in a series of foreign engagements by the President since he was sworn in on May 29, 2023.

Tinubu has visited more than 30 countries in over 50 unique and recurrent trips.

They include countries across Africa, Europe, Asia, the Americas, and the Middle East, including France, the United Kingdom, the United States, China, India, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Senegal, and several others, on a combination of bilateral, multilateral, and diplomatic assignments.

Meanwhile,** Tinubu has unveiled PenCare, a national healthcare initiative designed to provide free medical services to pensioners, beginning with low-income retirees.**

Tinubu, who was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, at the opening of the National Pension Week in Abuja, yesterday, said the initiative formed part of his administration’s welfare package for senior citizens.

PenCare is designed as a national retiree well-being programme aimed at improving access to essential healthcare, particularly for pensioners with limited financial resources.

In his address, themed “Pensions for All: Building a Secure Future Together,” the President said a strong pension system was both a social protection necessity and a pillar of economic transformation under the Renewed Hope Agenda.

He said the pension system could also mobilise long-term domestic savings, deepen financial markets and support productive investments.

Tinubu described pensions as an obligation to workers who had served the country, rather than a favour from the government.

“A pension is not a favour granted by Government. It is a wage earned, deferred and held in trust. It is a promise. And this Administration has resolved that the promise will be kept,” he said.

He added that the success of the pension system should be measured by the security and dignity it provided retirees, rather than the volume of funds accumulated.

“Above all, no Nigerian who has served this nation will be forgotten in retirement. Nigeria will keep faith with those who kept faith with Nigeria,” he said.

The President said his administration had taken steps to restore dignity, security and value to the Contributory Pension Scheme.

He also said he had approved a N758 billion Federal Government Pension Bond to settle accrued pension rights and strengthen the Pension Protection Fund.

“That was not an accounting exercise. It was an act of restitution to Nigerians who served their country and were made to wait for what they had earned,” Tinubu said.

Meanwhile, the Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Omolola Oloworaran, has insisted that the June 30, 2027 deadline for pension fund administrators and custodians to complete their recapitalisation remains unchanged.

Oloworaran said the exercise was necessary to strengthen institutions responsible for safeguarding the retirement savings of millions of Nigerian workers.

“We are not changing our minds. The industry must move beyond the growth in pension assets to building institutions strong enough to safeguard the savings of millions of Nigerian workers.

“Size is what we have achieved. Strength is what we now demand,” she said.