PDP Slams Tinubu’s Extended Europe Holiday, Skips UNGA

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has strongly condemned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s decision to prolong his working vacation in Europe and stay away from the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, describing the move as an unacceptable abdication of the presidential mandate at a time of mounting national crises.

In a statement issued on Tuesday by Comrade Ini Ememobong, National Publicity Secretary of the party’s Interim National Working Committee, the PDP reacted to the announcement by presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga that the President had extended his leave by a few days and would only return to Nigeria at the weekend.

Tinubu left Abuja on 30 August for what was billed as a three-week working vacation, first in London and later in Paris, where he held talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and businessman Vincent Bolloré. The Presidency insists he has remained in charge, citing directives such as the order for an independent panel to probe the deaths of 37 illegal miners in Minna. Vice-President Kashim Shettima is leading Nigeria’s delegation to UNGA and will deliver the national statement, while Secretary to the Government of the Federation George Akume continues to stand in at other official events. This marks Tinubu’s third consecutive absence from the annual gathering of world leaders.

The PDP dismissed the official explanation as being issued in bad faith and deeply insulting to Nigerians. “No reasonable parent or caretaker goes on vacation when his house is burning,” the party said. It argued that the underlying message from the Presidency is that citizens have no right to question why the President—who is a servant of the people, not their master—has chosen to remain abroad while insecurity rises, macroeconomic indicators worsen, and ordinary Nigerians face daily hardship and renewed hopelessness.

The party reminded Tinubu that he actively sought the office and, upon being sworn in, assumed a duty of accountability to every Nigerian. “It is therefore necessary to question why the President will be going on vacation at a time when insecurity is on a steady rise, the macroeconomic indices are looking bleak, and the citizens are fed daily with renewed hopelessness. The President’s action is a stark opposition to the existential reality of most Nigerians.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Ememobong further noted that, having already been in Europe, Tinubu could easily have proceeded to the United States for UNGA, the foremost annual meeting of global leaders. Instead, the Presidency appears to suggest the President is free to pick and choose which responsibilities he discharges and from where.

“There is no greater insult to the presidential mandate than this. If the President is not in Nigeria solving the problems of the country, he should be at UNGA seeking international help for the country. But our President is lounging and enjoying himself in a country whose president is at UNGA, and his handlers are questioning the rights of the President’s employers to demand accountability.”

The PDP called on Nigerians to take note of what it termed the disrespect and disdain shown by the Presidency toward those who insist the President must perform the duties of his office. This, the party said, must shape choices at the ballot in the coming presidential election. “We need a President who is ready, willing and able to work conscientiously for our country, locally and internationally.”