By John Alechenu, Abuja
The Labour Party (LP) has again criticised President Bola Tinubu’s seemingly unending love for foreign travels amidst Nigeria’s growing security and economic challenges.
Interim National Publicity Secretary of the party, Tony Akeni, in a statement in Abuja, on Saturday, said the President’s trip this time around indicated that he was increasingly becoming allergic to staying at home to tackle the nation’s problems.
President Tinubu left Nigeria for a 10-day working vacation in France and the United Kingdom as part of his 2025 annual leave on Thursday.
His trip has sparked controversy given the nation’s struggles with poverty reduction, insecurity and dwindling healthcare services.
Akeni noted that available records show that
135 million Nigerians fell into poverty within the first 18 months of Tinubu’s administration due to difficult economic policies.
He equally pointed out that galloping inflation, weakening of Nigeria’s currency, the Naira, and insecurity has been the hallmark of President Tinubu’s rule since he took power in 2023.
Akeni said, “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu departed Nigeria for yet another of his too many oversea trips.
“This time, the trip is officially explained as a 10-day vacation and part of his 2025 annual leave, which he will spend in France and the United Kingdom.
“As President Tinubu takes to the sky, he leaves behind a country ravaged by economic hardship where 135million citizens fell into poverty in the first 18months of his administration, caused by his difficult economic policies.
“Tinubu also leaves behind insecurity of historic proportions where 57 Nigerians die everyday from various forms of violent death.
“This amounts to seven deaths more than Ukraine’s war casualties, which loses 50 citizens per day in its full-scale war with Russia, according to research by Mediazona and The Book of Memory Group, corroborated by a similar BBC study.
“The Nigerian casualty figures exclude deaths from daily traffic accidents, Nigeria’s frequent boat mishaps and other civil hazards.
“You will recall that President Tinubu had only sat in office for four months after his swearing in on May 29, 2023 when he flew overseas on his first annual vacation. This was on October 2, 2023.
“This means that under the APC governance manual, four months made up one year for the Nigerian president to go on an annual vacation. This is historic for a post-inaugural president because it doesn’t happen anywhere else in the world.
“Since assumption of office on May 29, 2023, President Tinubu has travelled and virtually “lived” outside Nigeria for nearly 160 days. This is almost half of an entire year in only two years of office.
“Tracing this unproductive trend backwards to Buhari’s days, records show that APC produces dinner and toothpick presidents who eat breakfast in Abuja, have lunch in Paris and belch in London.
“They enjoy costly vacations abroad like children enjoy excursions to amusement parks. From Buhari’s administration to Tinubu’s current rule, that is the only reason why billions of naira they vote every year for the Aso Villa presidential clinic perpetually empty into unknown pockets and the clinic’s medicine shelves do not have drugs for even cramps.
“From late Buhari to Tinubu, APC has continued to produce nomad presidents whose medical and social tourism cost our country billions of Naira in taxpayers money.”
The Labour Party’s interim spokesman said the party will do things differently should Nigerians vote it into power come 2027.
According to him, it is the government’s responsibility to put in place a standard healthcare system that would cater for all citizens.
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