A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Ladan Salihu, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s prolonged absence from Nigeria, saying the country experienced “a lot of trauma” while the President stayed abroad.
Salihu, a former Director-General of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, FRCN, made the remarks on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Wednesday.
He said Tinubu’s absence from August 30 to September 29, amid insecurity and other challenges, raised questions about the President’s leadership and communication with Nigerians.
“During the President’s absence, Nigeria has undergone a lot of trauma, trauma of insecurity, killings of people,” Salihu said.
He referred to the reported killing of 37 miners in Niger State and alleged killings and kidnappings in Zamfara State as examples of the security challenges recorded during the period.
According to the ADC chieftain, Tinubu ought to have returned to Nigeria or directly addressed citizens if developments in the country demanded his attention.
“A president that has the interest of Nigerians at heart, the welfare and well-being and the security of the citizens as the core aspect of his leadership will easily have called off his trip, come back to Nigeria, address the myriad of political, economic and insecurity issues,” he said.
Salihu also faulted the President for what he described as inadequate communication with Nigerians during his stay abroad.
He said Tinubu had effectively left the country on “autopilot” while spending time in France and the United Kingdom.
“President Bola Tinubu has clearly shown Nigerians that he prefers leading Nigeria on autopilot or leaving Nigeria on autopilot and staying more abroad to discuss with President Macron and being in London to what he called a working vacation,” he said.
Salihu said Nigerians expected to hear directly from the President, particularly over reports of deaths and insecurity.
“If you are in London, Paris, give us a video feed to commiserate, to sympathise with Nigerians over the death of 37 citizens; we didn’t see that,” he said.
The ADC chieftain added that official statements from presidential aides could not substitute for direct communication from Tinubu.
“Bayo Onanuga is not the President we want to hear from. President Bola Tinubu is who we want to hear from while and whenever he is abroad,” he said.
Tinubu returned to Nigeria on Tuesday after spending about four weeks abroad. He arrived in Lagos from Paris at about 6:22pm aboard a Nigerian Air Force aircraft.
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