Obi: Tinubu, Shettima trips waste of scarce resources… their absence concerning

Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election, says it is concerning that Nigeria’s president and vice-president are out of the country. 

On October 2, the presidency announced President Bola Tinubu’s departure from Abuja for a two-week vacation in the UK. 

Ten days later, Kabir Masari, the senior special assistant on political matters to the president, said Tinubu had left the UK for France.

Vice-President Kashim Shettima is on a two-day working visit to Sweden. 

The presidency had stated that the absence of the country’s first and second citizens does not translate to a vacuum in the nation’s leadership.

Commenting on their absence, Obi said Tinubu could have visited Sweden himself instead of asking Shettima to represent him.

He said the president and his deputy have refused to be fiscally responsible at a time when Nigerians are facing severe hunger and poverty.

“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 posted on X. 

“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.

“Again, since the President is reportedly in Paris, France, which is just about 833 nautical miles from Stockholm, Sweden, one wonders why he did not just attend the 2-day working visit to Sweden.

“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 2 hours.

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

“Instead, he delegated the Vice President, who needed to travel 3055 nautical miles, over nine hours, and (about 4 times the travel time from Paris) Abuja, Nigeria, to Stockholm, Sweden, to represent him at the event.

“It would take about 4 times the time and distance it takes to travel from Paris to Stockholm to travel from Abuja to Stockholm.”

Obi added that now is the time for politicians “to show true and committed leadership to the people by making decisions that prioritize the well-being of the people and effective management of the nation’s scarce resources”.