The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has criticised President Bola Tinubu for travelling out of the country for a three-week vacation at what he described as a critical moment for Nigeria.
The Presidency had announced on Sunday that Tinubu departed Abuja for Europe to begin a three-week vacation as part of his annual leave.
Reacting in a post on his X handle, Atiku said the President’s decision to travel while Vice President Kashim Shettima is also out of the country has created what he described as a “disturbing vacuum of political leadership.”
“Nigeria may not be facing a constitutional vacuum today, but there is a disturbing vacuum of political leadership.
“I have travelled, lived and spent time abroad, and I have never pretended otherwise. But there is a fundamental difference between the travels of a private citizen and the responsibility of the sitting President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Atiku wrote.
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The former Vice President said Nigerians are currently grappling with high petrol prices, food insecurity, rising transport fares and worsening insecurity, arguing that the President should be focused on addressing the challenges rather than leaving the country for an extended vacation.
Atiku likened Tinubu’s decision to travel at the moment to a father leaving his home while his family is trapped inside a burning building.
“Consider what Bola Tinubu is leaving behind. Petrol priced beyond the reach of ordinary people. Families rationing food. Transport fares that have turned a journey to one’s own village into a luxury. Insecurity that buries Nigerians week after week. And in the middle of all this, President Tinubu has packed his bags for three weeks in Europe.
“The Vice President is abroad on official duty. That makes the President’s decision even more difficult to understand. Leadership is not merely the constitutional right to occupy an office; it is the judgment to know when your country needs you at home.
“A father may travel when all is well. But when his roof is burning and his family is trapped inside, he does not pick up his suitcase and head for the airport.
“That is the issue here. It is not that a President must never rest or travel. It is that Nigeria is burning, and the President has chosen a boarding pass over the fire extinguisher.”
Atiku further said millions of Nigerians were being weighed down by economic hardship while the President continued to travel.
“Millions of Nigerians are being grounded by hardship while their President is airborne. The people can barely afford to move, but the President keeps moving.”
He added that a government that could not feel the pain it inflicted on citizens would not have the will to address their problems.
Atiku also accused Tinubu’s administration of making Nigeria expensive, promising that he would make the country affordable again.
The Presidency said Tinubu is expected to return to Nigeria after the working vacation to join the campaign ahead of the January 2027 general elections.
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