By Kolawole Ojebisi
Mr Peter Obi, Presidential Candidate of Labour Party in the 2023 election, has berated President Bola Tinubu for sending Vice-President Kashim Shettima to represent him in Sweden.
Obi said its heights of financial recklessness for two top political officer holders to use the common wealth of the country for the second trip Shettima embarked on.
He said a country facing economic hardship like Nigeria should have looked for an alternative to save costs.
Obi stressed that Tinubu could have left Paris for Sweden as both countries are in Europe and just a journey of 2hrs “with his new powerful jet”.
The LP Presidential candidate said this in a series of tweets on X on Friday. Obi said, “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.”
On October, 2, 2024, the President had left Nigeria on a two-week working leave to the UK. It was later announced that he had departed the UK for France.
Reacting to reports on the absence of Tinubu and Shettima, Bayo Onanuga, presidential spokesman, had said that the president left on October 3, though the statement he issued to announce Tinubu’s two-week leave indicated that the president would depart Nigeria on October 2, and there was no further public communication that the plan had changed.
Obi’s criticism came barely 24 hours after former presidential media aide, Laolu Akande subtly took a swipe at the simultaneous absence of both the President and his second-in-command, Shettima, a development Akande said, “It’s not ideal”
