The 2027 African Democratic Congress Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has faulted President Bola Tinubu’s three-week vacation.
Atiku accused Tinubu of leaving Nigerians grounded with economic hardship, citing the cost of petrol and its impact on the cost of transportation.
The former Vice President made the allegation in a statement issued on Sunday in reaction to Tinubu’s departure from the country for a three-week vacation.
NPO Reported that Tinubu had on Sunday departed Abuja for the vacation.
The President is expected to return home after the working vacation to join the hectic campaign for the January 2027 election.
Atiku, in reaction, considered the vacation as ill-timed on account of the challenges facing Nigeria with his Vice President, Kashim Shettima, also out of the country.
‘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.
‘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.
‘The Vice President is abroad on official duty. That makes the President’s decision even more difficult to understand.’ He said.
While acknowledging the president’s right to travel, Atiku however held that leadership is not merely the constitutional right to occupy an office but 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.
‘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.’ The former Vice President said.
He further accused Tinubu of making cost of living in Nigeria expensive, stressing that he will make things affordable again if elected.
‘A government that cannot feel the pain it inflicts will never summon the will to end it. Tinubu made Nigeria expensive. I will make Nigeria affordable again.’ Atiku said.
