The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s decision to embark on another vacation abroad, saying Nigeria requires more focused leadership amid worsening economic hardship and insecurity. Obi, in a Facebook post on Tuesday, said Tinubu had again left the country for a three-week holiday in […] The post Peter Obi faults Tinubu’s three-week foreign trip appeared first on Tribune Online .
The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s decision to embark on another vacation abroad, saying Nigeria requires more focused leadership amid worsening economic hardship and insecurity.
Obi, in a Facebook post on Tuesday, said Tinubu had again left the country for a three-week holiday in Europe at a time when Nigerians were struggling with the rising cost of food and transportation, while insecurity continues to affect communities across the country.
According to the former Anambra State governor, thousands of children are also unable to access education because of insecurity.
He particularly cited reports of the abduction of about 600 Nigerians, predominantly women, children and elderly persons, during Juma’at prayers in Niger State, describing the development as an indication of the challenges confronting the country.
Obi also questioned government spending on presidential travels, alleging that about N37.64 billion was spent on presidential trips and related travel expenses between June 2023 and April 2026.
He further claimed that President Tinubu spent approximately 261 days outside Nigeria within the period.
“Yet, at this critical moment, the President has left the country for another holiday,” Obi said. The NDC presidential candidate also raised concerns over funding for the health sector, claiming that only N36 million was released to the Federal Ministry of Health in 2025 despite a capital allocation of N218 billion.
Obi argued that the alleged disparity between spending on presidential travel and funding for critical sectors reflected what he described as misplaced priorities by the government.
“This is the calamity befalling our country today. A government that can spend tens of billions on presidential travel while critical sectors remain starved of funds, and Nigerians are asked to endure worsening hardship, must not be allowed to continue.”
He maintained that leadership was fundamentally about setting the right priorities, arguing that the President should be more concerned with addressing insecurity, poverty, healthcare, education and other challenges confronting citizens.
“When citizens cannot feed their families, move safely, access healthcare, send their children to school, or sleep peacefully in their homes, the President should be more concerned about fixing the country than repeatedly leaving it,” he said.
Obi also used the occasion to advocate increased domestic tourism, saying the Nigerian president should serve as the country’s “chief marketer” by visiting and promoting tourist destinations across the country.
He listed Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Cross River, Bauchi and Ebonyi among states he said could benefit from greater presidential and domestic tourism attention.
According to him, increased domestic travel by political leaders, celebrities, businesses and citizens could generate significant economic opportunities by supporting the hospitality, transportation, agriculture, entertainment, crafts and small-business sectors.
“Tourism creates jobs. It supports hospitality, transportation, agriculture, entertainment, crafts, and small businesses. It brings investment and foreign exchange and allows communities to benefit directly from their natural and cultural assets,” Obi said.
He argued that Nigeria should reduce its dependence on spending abroad and instead develop its domestic economic and tourism potential.
“We cannot continue to export our wealth and import our pleasures while our own enormous potential remains neglected,” he said.
Obi called for leadership that prioritises Nigeria and its citizens, saying the partnership between himself and former Kano State governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, would provide what he described as a new direction for the country.
“We deserve leadership that puts Nigeria first; leadership that cares and plans for a better Nigeria. That is the kind of leadership that the partnership between H.E. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and I will bring,” he added.
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