The presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, has said out of the approximately 580 days President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been in office as of December 29, 2024, 30% or about 180 days were spent abroad, in over 30 recorded overseas trips.
Obi said this at a media chat on Thursday in Abuja on the state of the nation, adding that Nigeria needed selfless and exemplary leadership in 2025.
Daily Trust reached out to Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy as well as Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communications for their reactions to the claims of the former governor of Anambra State against their principal. They did not pick their calls nor reacted to messages sent to their phones as at the time of filing this report.
President Tinubu was sworn in on May 29, 2023, and has spent 584 days in office as at January 2, 2025.
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Our correspondent also reports that while President Tinubu has not travelled out of the country this year as he is currently on holiday in Lagos, the president in 2023 and 2024 visited not less than 16 countries, including some he visited more than once.
Daily Trust also reported that President Tinubu’s government spent N2.3billion on foreign trips and related expenses within six months in 2024, according to data from GovSpend, a portal documenting the Presidential Villa expenditure.
The highlights covered the costs associated with presidential travels between February 21 and July 19, last year.
Speaking on the development at the media briefing, Obi said President Tinubu will spend roughly 72 days to visit each of Nigeria’s 36 states for two days each.
“My appeal is that you dedicate at least 20% of 2025, roughly 72 days, to visit each of Nigeria’s 36 states for two days each.
“As president, such visits would give you the opportunity to better understand the dire economic and security situations across the country. Furthermore, it is time for you to visit our national hospitals. Consider, for example, that your next medical examination be conducted at one of our national hospitals or regional Federal Medical Centres, such as the FMC in Sokoto or Birnin Kebbi or Calabar or Umuahia or Akure, among others,” Obi said.
The former Anambra State governor said that would allow the president to assess the state of healthcare facilities available to Nigerians and would also help him understand the condition of the nation’s hospitals and clinics, enabling him to make informed decisions on how to upgrade and make them efficient.
“Endeavour to travel by road to observe the condition of most highways. You can take short trips, for example, from Calabar in Cross River State to Uyo in Akwa Ibom State, a distance of less than 100km, or from Benin in Edo State to Warri in Delta State,” he said.
He also urged President Tinubu to make both impromptu and planned visits to the nation’s tertiary institutions, to familiarise himself with the available infrastructure, facilities, and amenities.
He said, “Mr President, many Nigerians are ‘refugees’ and ‘exiles’ in their own country. Visit various IDP camps and assure these Nigerians that they will soon return to their communities and that you are working hard to restore peace and normalcy to the country. Nigeria is not a war-torn nation. The proliferation of IDP camps is a troubling sign.”
He also charged President Tinubu to pay aggressive attention to combating corruption, adding that while addressing past corrupt matters, he must ensure proper investigations and recoveries related to missing funds or their sources.
“All future borrowing must be tied to regenerative investments and visible, productive assets that benefit the nation,” he said.
Obi insisted that Nigerians need to hear directly from President Tinubu, not through his proxies and that a quarterly update on what he is doing to improve the situation in Nigeria is crucial.
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 elections also said Nigeria’s political, economic and security situation is worsening daily, contrary to the positions and claims by the present government.
Obi noted that food insecurity has become the new national norm, making Nigeria one of the hungriest countries in the world.
He also said that gainfully employed and middle-income Nigerians now spend nearly their entire incomes on feeding, with some even resorting to borrowing just to eat.
He also accused the present administration of nepotism and disregard for the constitution, the rule of law, and due process which have become the norm in the country.
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