The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has declared that the announcement of the extension of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s vacation by the Presidency was in utmost bad faith.
The PDP pointedly said that it was also disappointing as it was insulting to Nigerians, stressing that the President’s action is a stark opposition to the existential reality of most Nigerians.
The Kabiru Turaki-led Interim National Working Committee of the PDP stated that the statement issued by presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, was so disappointing because no reasonable parent or caretaker goes on vacation when his house is burning.
A statement by Comrade Ini Ememobong, National Publicity Secretary, Interim National Working Committee of the PDP noted that the underlying tone of the message is that Nigerians, no matter how highly or lowly placed, should not question why the President-a servant of the Nigerian people, should be held accountable for his decision to be absent from the meeting of global leaders.
Ememobong stressed that there was the need to remind the President and the Presidency that Tinubu sought for the job, and by being sworn in, he became the servant, not lord and master, of the country and all Nigerians, who have a right to question how he governs them.
The PDP further said that it was 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.
In the words of Ememobong; “Since he went on holiday in Europe, it was expected that he would proceed from there to America for UNGA- unarguably, the biggest gathering of world leaders, since the distance would be shorter from there.
“But the President and the Presidency seem to suggest that the President is at liberty to determine which tasks he handles and from where he handles them.
“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,” he pointed.
The PDP therefore called on Nigerians to note the disrespect and disdain that the Presidency has served on them for asking questions and demanding that their President execute the responsibilities of his office.
“This must guide our choices at the ballot in January, during the presidential elections, because we need a President who is ready, willing and able to work conscientiously for our country, locally and internationally,” the PDP stated.
