Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has taken a swipe at President Bola Tinubu over his decision to embark on a three-week European vacation amid what he described as worsening economic hardship, insecurity and other crises across Nigeria.
Tinubu departed Abuja on Sunday for Europe as part of his 2026 annual leave.
The President’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, had defended the trip, saying Tinubu deserved the break after working hard and needed time to “refuel.”
But Atiku, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, disagreed with the timing of the President’s journey, arguing that the situation in Nigeria demanded his presence at home.
In a statement shared on his social media platforms on Sunday, Atiku said the country was experiencing a “disturbing vacuum of political leadership,” despite there being no constitutional vacuum.
He argued that there was a major difference between the overseas travels of a private citizen and those of a sitting President who bears responsibility for the affairs of the country.
Atiku said Tinubu was leaving behind Nigerians grappling with high petrol prices, rising food costs, expensive transportation and insecurity.
He also pointed to the fact that Vice-President Kashim Shettima was out of the country on official duty in Luanda, Angola, where he was attending the 21st Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union.
According to Atiku, the simultaneous absence of both the President and Vice-President made Tinubu’s decision to travel particularly difficult to understand.
He maintained that leadership required knowing when a country needed its leader at home rather than simply exercising the constitutional right to travel.
Taking his criticism a step further, Atiku used a family analogy to attack the President’s decision.
He said a good father might travel when everything was fine at home, but would not pick up his suitcase and head for the airport when his house was on fire and his family was trapped inside.
Atiku argued that this, rather than the President’s right to take a vacation, was the real issue surrounding Tinubu’s trip.
He accused the President of choosing to travel at a time when millions of Nigerians were struggling with hardship, saying the country was “burning” while Tinubu was “airborne.”
Atiku further argued that Nigerians were finding it increasingly difficult to afford basic movement because of the economic situation, while the President was travelling abroad.
He also accused the Tinubu administration of failing to adequately appreciate the hardship allegedly created by its policies.
Concluding his attack, Atiku declared that Tinubu had made Nigeria expensive and promised that he would make the country affordable again.
The criticism comes as Tinubu begins his three-week European vacation, with the presidency maintaining that the break is deserved after his demanding schedule.
