Former Presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has tackled President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima for travelling out of Nigeria at the same time.
While President Tinubu departed Nigeria on October 2, 2024, for a two-week work leave in the United Kingdom, Shettima left the shores of Nigeria for Sweden on Wednesday, October 16, on a two-day visit to represent Nigeria in bilateral engagements with the Scandinavian nation.
While some Nigerians have frowned against it, the Presidency in a statement released by Presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, said there is no vacuum in governance as both leaders are fully engaged with the nation’s affairs, even while they are away.
In a statement released this morning, Obi opined that it is concerning for both leaders to jet out of the country at a time when Nigerians are battling with a myriad of domestic problems. He wondered why the President had yet to return to the country when he had told Nigerians that he was also going for 14 days. He argued that it does not make sense for the Vice President to Fly to Sweden for a working visit when the President who is in France and closer to Sweden could have attended it.
He wrote;
‘’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.
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.
This does not represent the kind of fiscal responsibility and common sense that is expected of leaders whose people are facing severe hunger and poverty.
This is the time 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 in alleviating the sufferings of the people.
