The African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council has called on the Presidency to explain why President Bola Tinubu has remained outside Nigeria, six days after the end of his initially announced three-week vacation.
In a statement released on Sunday by its Director of Media and Publicity, Kola Ologbondiyan, the ADC PCC said the President had not returned to Nigeria as of September 27, despite his vacation reportedly being scheduled to end on September 21.
Tinubu left Nigeria for London, United Kingdom, on August 30 and later travelled to Paris, France, where he held meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron and businessman Vincent Bolloré.
While the President was away, Vice-President Kashim Shettima represented him at a number of official engagements before travelling from Abuja to New York, United States, on September 20 to participate in the 81st United Nations General Assembly, which commenced its general debate on September 22.
The President was subsequently expected back in Nigeria over the weekend. However, reports that emerged on Sunday evening indicated that his return had been postponed until Tuesday.
Reacting to the development, the opposition party asked the Presidency to give Nigerians specific and verifiable details about the President’s whereabouts, the reason for the extension of his stay overseas and the constitutional arrangements in place during his absence.
The ADC Presidential Campaign Council stated, “The Presidency owes Nigerians a clear and transparent explanation. The continued absence of the President, without sufficient public information on his whereabouts or the circumstances surrounding the extension of his stay abroad, has inevitably generated questions and public concern.
“The office of the President is a public trust. Nigerians who elected President Tinubu are entitled to know where their President is and, more importantly, who is exercising presidential authority while he remains outside the country.
“This is particularly important at a time when Nigeria is confronted by serious economic pressures, widespread hardship and persistent security challenges. The country cannot afford uncertainty at the highest level of government.
“The ADC, therefore, calls on the Presidency to immediately come clean with Nigerians and provide clear, verifiable information on the President’s current location, the reason for the prolonged absence and the constitutional arrangements governing the administration of the country during this period.”
Ologbondiyan maintained that Nigerians were entitled to transparency, noting that the President’s absence and the exercise of executive powers remained issues of public interest.
The statement read, “The Presidency must also clarify the status of the President’s vacation and explain the constitutional basis for the current arrangement, particularly where the President remains away from the country beyond the period earlier communicated to Nigerians.
“Nigerians deserve openness, not secrecy. Presidential movements and the exercise of executive authority cannot be treated as matters of private convenience when they directly concern the governance of a nation of more than 200 million people.
“The ADC is equally concerned by the reported decision to extend the President’s vacation and the directive that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, should continue to represent the President at official functions.
