President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will address Nigerians at 7am today, Thursday, October 1, 2026, as the country marks its 66th Independence Anniversary.
The nationwide broadcast was announced by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement issued on Wednesday.
Onanuga advised television and radio stations, as well as other electronic media outlets, to join the network services of the Nigerian Television Authority, NTA, and the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, FRCN, for the broadcast.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will address the nation on Thursday, October 1, 2026, at 7 a.m., to mark Nigeria’s 66th Independence anniversary,” the statement said.
The address will form part of activities marking 66 years of Nigeria’s independence from British colonial rule.
Tinubu is currently in Lagos, having returned to Nigeria on Tuesday after ending his extended working vacation in France.
The President had left Abuja on August 30 for a three-week working vacation. He spent one week in London before travelling to Paris, where he held several engagements, including a private dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Tinubu arrived in Lagos on Tuesday and was received at the Presidential Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, by Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and other dignitaries.
The Presidency had earlier said Tinubu would use his stay in Lagos to hold strategic meetings with political leaders and associates ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The Independence Day programme is expected to be relatively low-key. The Federal Government had previously constituted an Inter-Ministerial Committee to coordinate activities for the 66th anniversary.
The President’s broadcast will be closely watched as Nigerians mark another year of independence amid ongoing discussions around the economy, security, cost of living, governance and national development.
The specific issues Tinubu will address in the broadcast have not been disclosed by the Presidency ahead of the 7am transmission.
Nigeria gained independence on October 1, 1960, with Abubakar Tafawa Balewa serving as the country’s first Prime Minister.
The President’s address will be carried through the NTA and FRCN network services, with other television, radio and electronic media organisations expected to relay the broadcast nationwide.
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