Peter Obi has criticized President Bola Tinubu’s frequent foreign trips, especially to France, calling them excessive amid Nigeria’s worsening economic hardship and insecurity.
He argued the president’s absences show detachment from citizens’ suffering.
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Former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has once again faulted President Bola Tinubu for what he described as an excessive pattern of foreign trips at a time Nigerians are battling severe economic and security challenges.
Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, expressed worry over the president’s repeated travels to Europe, particularly to France, suggesting that such frequent absences create the impression that the nation’s leader is increasingly uncomfortable staying at home.
In a post shared on his official X account on Friday, Obi argued that the president’s conduct should raise concerns among Nigerians. He noted that Tinubu departed the country only a few days after returning from a two-week stay abroad that had initially been scheduled for five days.
According to him, Tinubu’s latest trip marks roughly the tenth time he has flown to France in just two years, this time for his annual vacation. Obi questioned why so much of the president’s tenure had been spent outside the country, pointing out that Nigeria is grappling with widespread hunger, alarming health statistics, and persistent violence.
He referenced recent reports indicating that nearly 80 percent of Nigerians face food insecurity, while international rankings have described the country as one of the worst places to give birth and among the lowest globally in life expectancy.
Obi also lamented that while the president was away on one of his earlier visits, violent attacks in Katsina claimed more than 50 lives and led to mass kidnappings. He added that just this week, 60 women and children were killed in Niger State. In his view, such tragedies demanded the president’s presence and compassion on the ground, rather than constant departures abroad.
