The Labour Party (LP) has condemned President Bola Tinubu’s frequent overseas travels, saying what Nigeria needs is a President who would be around to solve the myriad of her problems.
New Telegraph had earlier reported that President Tinubu left the country on Thursday for a 10-day vacation in France and London. In reaction to the development, the Labour Party said this was one vacation too many.
The party, in a statement issued by the interim National Publicity Secretary, Prince Tony Akeni, regretted that the president prioritises his overseas trips over the welfare of the citizens.
The Labour Party noted that over 135 million citizens have fallen into poverty in the last two years, due to the Tinubu administration’s difficult economic policies.
“Tinubu also leaves behind insecurity of historic proportions, where 57 Nigerians die every day from various forms of violent crimes.
“This amounts to seven deaths more than Ukraine’s war casualties, which lose 50 citizens per day in its full-scale war with Russia.
“The Nigerian casualty figures exclude deaths from daily traffic accidents, frequent boat mishaps and other civil hazards,” the party stated.
It noted that President Tinubu has spent over 160 days outside the country since he assumed office on May 29, 2023.
“This is nearly half of an entire year within only two years of office,” the LP said.
The party said Nigeria can no longer afford to have “nomad” presidents, recalling that the late President Muhammadu Buhari he succeeded, spent one-third of his eight-year tenure abroad.
“From late Buhari to Tinubu, APC has been manufacturing for Nigerians nomadic presidents who travel overseas not necessarily for economic diplomacy but medical and social tourism, which costs our country billions of naira loss in taxpayers’ money,” the party stated.
