Former Vice President and 2027 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s decision to embark on a three-week vacation while Vice President Kashim Shettima is also outside the country.
Atiku argued that the situation had created what he described as a disturbing vacuum in political leadership, warning that it could potentially develop into a constitutional vacuum.
TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports that Tinubu departed Abuja on Sunday for Europe to begin his three-week annual leave, with London, United Kingdom, listed as his first destination.
At the same time, Shettima travelled to Luanda, Angola, where he is representing the President at the 21st Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union.
Reacting in a statement on Sunday, Atiku questioned the timing of Tinubu’s vacation, particularly against the backdrop of the economic and security challenges confronting Nigerians.
He maintained that although there was no constitutional vacuum at present, the absence of both the President and Vice President raised concerns about the country’s political leadership.
“Nigeria may not be facing a constitutional vacuum today, but there is a disturbing vacuum of political leadership.
“I have travelled, lived and spent time abroad, and I have never pretended otherwise. But there is a fundamental difference between the travels of a private citizen and the responsibility of the sitting President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The ADC presidential candidate said Tinubu was leaving behind Nigerians grappling with high petrol prices, rising food costs, expensive transportation and insecurity.
He questioned the decision to spend three weeks in Europe at a time when many citizens were struggling to cope with economic hardship.
Consider what Bola Tinubu is leaving behind. Petrol priced beyond the reach of ordinary people. Families rationing food. Transport fares that have turned a journey to one’s own village into a luxury.
“Insecurity that buries Nigerians week after week. And in the middle of all this, President Tinubu has packed his bags for three weeks in Europe.”
Atiku further argued that the Vice President’s absence made Tinubu’s decision more difficult to understand, stressing that leadership required sensitivity to the circumstances facing the country.
He said a president should recognise when his presence was needed at home, rather than prioritising foreign travel amid mounting challenges.
The Vice President is abroad on official duty. That makes the President’s decision 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.
“A father may travel when all is well. But when his roof is burning and his family is trapped inside, he does not pick up his suitcase and head for the airport.”
Atiku also accused the Tinubu administration of being disconnected from the hardship faced by ordinary Nigerians.
He said the President’s decision to proceed with his vacation at this time suggested that the administration was not sufficiently responsive to the suffering of citizens.
“That is the issue here. It is not that a President must never rest or travel. It is that Nigeria is burning, and the President has chosen a boarding pass over the fire extinguisher.
“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.
“A government that cannot feel the pain it inflicts will never summon the will to end it.”
The former Vice President concluded by contrasting his political vision with the current administration, declaring: “Tinubu made Nigeria expensive. I will make Nigeria affordable again.”
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