Atiku Faults Tinubu’s Three-Week European Vacation, Says Nigeria Faces ‘Vacuum of Political Leadership’

Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s decision to embark on a three-week vacation in Europe, describing it as a “disturbing vacuum of political leadership” amid the country’s economic and security challenges.

Atiku made the remarks in a statement reacting to President Tinubu’s planned three-week annual leave, which begins with a working vacation in London.

The former vice president said although Nigeria may not be facing a constitutional vacuum, the country is experiencing a leadership vacuum because of the President’s decision to travel at a time when Nigerians are grappling with hardship and insecurity.

“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,” Atiku said.

He criticised the prevailing economic conditions, citing high petrol prices, rising food costs, expensive transportation and persistent insecurity.

“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,” he said.

Atiku also questioned the President’s decision to travel while Vice President Kashim Shettima is reportedly abroad on official duty.

“The Vice President is abroad on official duty. That makes the President’s decision even more difficult to understand,” he said.

According to Atiku, presidential leadership requires more than occupying the nation’s highest office, arguing that the President must recognise moments when his presence is most needed at home.

“Leadership is not merely the constitutional right to occupy an office; it is the judgment to know when your country needs you at home,” he said.

Using an analogy, Atiku said a father would not leave home when his family was facing an emergency.

“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,” he stated.

He stressed that his criticism was not against a president taking time off, but against the timing of Tinubu’s trip amid the difficulties facing Nigerians.

“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,” Atiku said.

The ADC presidential candidate further accused the administration of being disconnected from the hardship experienced by ordinary Nigerians.

“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,” he said.

Atiku concluded by promising to reverse what he described as the high cost of living under the Tinubu administration.

“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.