The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over what it described as an “unexplained five-day disappearance” following his participation in the 2025 BRICS summit in Brazil.

Tinubu, who attended the summit in Rio de Janeiro, returned to Nigeria in the early hours of Sunday, five days after the event officially ended on Monday, July 7.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Bolaji Abdullahi, spokesperson of the ADC, questioned the president’s whereabouts during the period and faulted the absence of any official explanation.

“The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has challenged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to tell Nigerians where he has been for five days since the end of the BRICS Summit in Brazil,” Abdullahi said.

“The President, who returned in the early hours of Sunday, had been missing from public view since the end of the Summit in Brazil without any official explanation as to his whereabouts.”

He compared Tinubu’s conduct with that of other world leaders who, according to him, returned home after the summit, briefed their citizens, and resumed official duties.

“But our President? He only reappeared in Abuja in the early hours of Sunday, July 13, without a word, without a briefing, or any explanation as to why his return to the country had been delayed,” he said.

Abdullahi said the delay was significant, particularly in light of the current national challenges.

“The President was not on holiday; he was on official duty. We therefore cannot wish those five days away and we demand a clear explanation for them,” he added.

The party also accused the Tinubu administration of lacking transparency in matters related to the president’s overseas engagements.

“The ADC also notes with concern that this disdain for accountability around the President’s overseas trip has become a distinct hallmark of this administration,” Abdullahi said.

He cited several past instances in 2024 when the president was reportedly absent from public view without formal communication.

“In January 2024, a so-called ‘private visit’ to France turned into a two-week disappearance. No photos, and no statements from our President,” he said.

“In April 2024, President Tinubu travelled to the Netherlands, and then to Riyadh, for the World Economic Forum. The summit ended on April 29th, but there was not a word from him until May 8th. Those were nine days of unexplained vacuum.”

He continued, “In August 2024, President Tinubu flew to China via Dubai. After his engagements in Beijing, he vanished from public view on September 5th, and mysteriously surfaced in London on September 11th. He was missing for six days—no explanations, no letter transmitted to the National Assembly, just silence.”

“And in the same August 2024, the President also embarked on yet another ‘brief work stay’ in Paris. He remained incommunicado for three days, then quietly returned, as if the nation does not deserve to know.”

Abdullahi warned that such absences raise unnecessary speculation and undermine public confidence.

“A president that disappears without explanation cannot be trusted to be present to solve the crises that we face,” he said.

“A President that vanishes without accountability has no moral authority to demand sacrifice from citizens.”

He described the ruling All Progressives Congress’ explanations for these incidents as an insult to Nigerians.
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