By Luminous Jannamike
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to give a clear explanation for his five-day absence from public view following the 2025 BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The President, who returned to Nigeria in the early hours of Sunday, had not been seen in public since the summit ended on Monday, 7 July, raising concerns about transparency and accountability in his administration.
In a statement signed by Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, Interim National Publicity Secretary of the ADC and spokesperson for the opposition coalition, the party expressed disappointment over the President’s unexplained delay in returning to the country.
The ADC noted that while other world leaders promptly resumed duties and briefed their citizens after the summit, President Tinubu remained silent, leaving Nigerians unsure of his whereabouts.
“A whole five days is significant in the life of a country, especially a country like ours battling with several existential challenges of insecurity and a tottering economy that has made life increasingly difficult for the majority of Nigerians.
“The President was not on holidays, he was on official duty. We therefore cannot wish those five days away and we demand a clear explanation for them,” Abdullahi said.
The party criticised what it described as a pattern of unexplained absences under Tinubu’s leadership, calling it ‘a distinct hallmark of disdain for accountability.’
The ADC cited similar instances in 2024, when the President ‘vanished’ from public view without explanation, including a two-week private visit to France, a nine-day absence after the World Economic Forum, and a six-day disappearance following a trip to China.
“Each episode of Mr President’s ‘mysterious disappearances’ has sparked all manners of speculations and rumours that are not only unhealthy to the polity but also endanger Nigeria’s perception in the eyes of the world,” the ADC stated.
The party urged Nigerians to reflect on the growing trend of secrecy, warning that it erodes public trust and casts doubt on the President’s ability to tackle the country’s serious problems.
“A president that disappears without explanation cannot be trusted to be present to solve the crises that we face,” Abdullahi stressed.
The ADC’s call for transparency comes at a time when Nigeria is dealing with worsening economic hardship and rising security threats.
The party said the Tinubu administration’s repeated failure to communicate openly with the public calls into question its dedication to good governance.
“A President that vanishes without accountability has no moral authority to demand sacrifice from citizens. Most importantly, a ruling party that makes excuses for these serial disappearances has nothing but contempt for the people it governs and has no regard for accountability,” the statement added.
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