The 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has criticized the foreign trips taken by President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima, citing them as concerning given the country’s ongoing domestic challenges.
Tinubu left Nigeria for the United Kingdom on October 2, 2024, for a two-week working leave. Following this, he departed for France on October 11 for “another important engagement,” as tweeted by his Senior Special Assistant on Political and Other Matters, Ibrahim Masari.
Meanwhile, Vice President Shettima left Abuja on Wednesday for a two-day visit to Sweden, representing Nigeria in bilateral engagements with the Scandinavian country.
The Presidency defended the trips on Wednesday, asserting that the absence of both Tinubu and Shettima does not create a leadership vacuum. It stated that both leaders are “fully engaged with the nation’s affairs, even while away.”
However, Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, expressed his concerns on Friday through a post on X (formerly Twitter). He noted that it was troubling for both the President and Vice President to be out of the country simultaneously, especially given the nation’s pressing issues.
He wrote, “While it is arguable that with the President and Vice President absent from the Villa, there is no vacancy in the Presidency, in a situation where both the President and Vice President are out of the country, as reported in the media yesterday, it’s concerning for a country with such myriads of domestic problems. The President had told us he would only be gone for 14 days. The 14 days have passed now, and we are waiting to see him in the country. One would have expected him to return earlier than expected, considering the volume of work that needs to be done in a troubled nation like ours.
“The untold hardship that has been unleashed on our people as a result of some of his administration’s policies is unimaginable and we need his urgent attention to pilot the nation out of this present situation.”
Obi also questioned why Tinubu, who is reportedly in Paris, France—approximately 833 nautical miles from Stockholm, Sweden—did not attend the event in Sweden himself instead of delegating the Vice President.
He added, “He could simply have done it on his way back from France with his new powerful jet, which would have taken him a little over 2 hours. This would have saved time and the very scarce national resources we need critically at this time.
“Instead, he delegated the Vice President, who needed to travel 3055 nautical miles, over nine hours, and (about 4 times the travel time from Paris) Abuja, Nigeria, to Stockholm, Sweden, to represent him at the event.
“It would take about 4 times the time and distance it takes to travel from Paris to Stockholm to travel from Abuja to Stockholm. This does not represent the kind of fiscal responsibility and common sense that is expected of leaders whose people are facing severe hunger and poverty.
“This is the time to show true and committed leadership to the people by making decisions that prioritize the well-being of the people and effective management of the nation’s scarce resources in alleviating the sufferings of the people.”
This is the second time since Tinubu and Shettima assumed office 17 months ago that both have been abroad at the same time. The first instance occurred between late April and early May 2024.
During that period, Tinubu was in London after visits to the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia, where he attended the World Economic Forum. Shettima, meanwhile, attended the International Development Association Heads of State Summit in Nairobi before traveling to Dallas, Texas, for the US-Africa Business Summit organized by the Corporate Council on Africa. The Vice President cut his trip short and returned to Nigeria, while Tinubu returned to Abuja on May 8.