IT is all quiet and somber within the precincts of the Presidential Villa. The volume of traffic and entrance of high-profile visitors has thinned out. Exactly ten days into President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s three-week vacation, activities in the Presidential Villa have slowed down, with the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, receiving visitors in his office without the usual display.

With not less than 14 days left before the President’s expected return, his vacation has also grossly affected the proper constitution of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Committee and the effective take-off of the party’s electioneering.

This is even as the party’s National Chairman, Professor Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, also jetted out of Abuja for a short vacation that is expected to round off the same time the President would be heading back to Nigeria.

A prominent member of the flawed APC Presidential Campaign Committee, confided in TheGuardian that the APC chairman is expected to meet with the President to review strategies and clarifications on some far-reaching decisions to be taken about the running of the party during the campaign season.

He noted that although Tinubu had expressed reservations about the handling of both the national convention and the party’s primary elections, efforts are on top gear to smoothen various serrated edges around the composition of the presidential campaign committee and possible replacement of vacancies in the Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

“As we speak, I would be travelling to United States by midnight today, everything appears to be on hold due to the absence of C-in-C. I want to use the next eight days to also refuel and see my children in the US. You people in the media ma y say we are sluggish in kicking off with the campaigns, but there are a lot that our party is doing behind the scene,” he stated.

According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Information Strategy, Abimbola Toki, the APC national chairman is expected to resume his official duties after two weeks of rest, adding that to ensure continuity of party’s activities, the other members of the APC National Working Committee are on hand to handle official duties.

Tooki dismissed speculations in some quarters that his principal could be on his way out of the office as national chairman, stressing that “far from being a disengagement from party affairs, the vacation provides the National Chairman with an opportunity to step back briefly from the intensity of day-to-day activities, recharge and reflect on the enormous responsibilities ahead.”

He added that while away on the two-week recess, Prof Yilwatda, will put finishing touches on the planned retreat for members of the NWC, remarking that the retreat was programmed to enable members volunteer observations and ideas for the smooth running of the party.

“During the retreat, NWC members are expected to review the party’s activities, assess emerging challenges and map out strategies ahead of the 2027 elections,” he stated, adding that the chairman’s vacation will help him refresh for the crucial time ahead and prepare him for the anticipated rigorous re-election campaigns.