Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has criticised President Bola Tinubu for embarking on a three-week vacation in Europe while Nigeria grapples with economic hardship, insecurity and other challenges.
Tinubu has reportedly travelled to Europe as part of his annual leave, which presidential aide Sunday Dare described as well deserved, given the President’s workload.
But Atiku, in a statement posted on his social media handles on Sunday, questioned the timing of the President’s departure, arguing that the country requires strong political leadership amid mounting difficulties.
According to Atiku, although there is no constitutional vacuum in Nigeria, there is “a disturbing vacuum of political leadership.”
He said the President was leaving behind a country where petrol prices remain high, families are struggling to afford food, transport fares have become increasingly burdensome and insecurity continues to claim lives.
“Atiku said the fact that Vice-President Kashim Shettima is also outside the country on official duty at the African Union Extraordinary Session in Luanda, Angola, makes Tinubu’s decision to travel 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,” he said.
Using a family analogy, Atiku said a father would not leave for the airport when his house was on fire and members of his family were trapped inside.
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He stressed that his criticism was not against a President taking time to rest or travelling abroad, but against doing so when the country is facing what he described as serious economic and security challenges.
Atiku further accused the Tinubu administration of making Nigeria increasingly expensive for ordinary citizens.
“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 said.
He added that a government that could not appreciate the hardship experienced by citizens would struggle to develop the political will needed to address it.
“Tinubu made Nigeria expensive. I will make Nigeria affordable again,” Atiku declared.