Peter Obi, wey be de former governor of Anambra State and de presidential candidate of de Labour Party for de 2023 general elections, don criticize President Bola Tinubu and his Vice, Senator Kashim Shettima, for their frequent foreign trips. Obi say de trips no make sense, especially when Nigeria dey face many domestic challenges.
According to reports, Vice President Shettima travel to Sweden on Wednesday for a two-day visit to represent Nigeria in bilateral engagements with Sweden, while President Tinubu still dey outside de country. Tinubu had left Nigeria on October 2, 2024, for a two-week working leave in de UK, and later moved to France for another engagement on October 11.
Obi express his concern on his X handle, saying it is disturbing that both de President and Vice President are not in de country at a time when citizens need dem most. He argue say de President could have attended de event in Sweden on his way back from France, which would have saved time and resources.
De Presidency defend de trips, saying dat de absence of Tinubu and his deputy no pose any vacuum in Nigeria’s leadership. Dem claim say de two principal officers are “fully engaged with de nation’s affairs, even while away”.
This mark de second time both officers have been concurrently absent from de country since dem assume office 17 months ago. Between late April and early May 2024, while Tinubu was in London after visiting de Netherlands and Saudi Arabia, Shettima left Nigeria for Kenya and later for Dallas, Texas, before returning midway.
Many Nigerians have also raised concerns about de President’s health due to his continuous visits to France, asking questions like ‘where is de president?’.
