Tinubu, Shettima’s foreign trips concerning — Peter Obi

The Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate during the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, has questioned the foreign trips embarked upon by both President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima.

Tinubu departed for the United Kingdom on October 2, 2024, for a two-week working leave and later left the UK for France on Friday, October 11, for another engagement, according to the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Political and Other Matters, Ibrahim Masari, in a tweet.

Shettima left Abuja on Wednesday for Sweden on a two-day visit to represent Nigeria in bilateral engagements.

Commenting on the trips, the Presidency on Wednesday said the absence of the President and his deputy does not create any vacuum in Nigeria’s leadership, positing that the two principal officers remain fully engaged with the nation’s affairs, even while outside the country.

However, reacting to the Presidency’s justification on Friday in a post on his X account, Obi described the trips as disturbing.

“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,” Obi said.

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“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.”

The former Anambra governor noted that since the President is reportedly in Paris, France, which is just about 833 nautical miles from Stockholm, Sweden, it is puzzling why he did not attend the two-day working visit to Sweden himself.

“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 two hours. This would have saved time and the very scarce national resources we critically need at this time.

“Instead, he delegated the Vice President, who needed to travel 3,055 nautical miles—over nine hours—and about four times the travel time from Paris to Abuja, Nigeria, to Stockholm, Sweden, to represent him at the event.

“It takes about four times the time and distance to travel from Abuja to Stockholm compared to travelling from Paris 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.”

He added that this is the time to demonstrate true and committed leadership by making decisions that prioritise the well-being of the people and the effective management of the nation’s scarce resources to alleviate their suffering.