You Spent 180 Out Of 580 Days Abroad – Obi Tackles Tinubu

• Urges President to prioritise going round Nigeria’s 36 states in 72 days

BY EDMOND ODOK – The Labour Party (LP) Presidential Candidate in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, says President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has spent about 180 days abroad, representing over 30 percent of the approximately 580 days in office since being sworn in on 29th May 2023.

He said as of December 29, 2024, the President has embarked on over 30 publicly recorded overseas trips in the 180 days compared to the about 72 days he requires to visit Nigeria’s 36 states for just two days each.

Speaking with journalists on the state of the nation in Abuja on Thursday, the former Governor of Anambra State said given the challenges on ground, Nigeria needs selfless and exemplary leadership in 2025 and going forward.

Obi, who stressed the need for President Tinubu to prioritise his official visits, said; “Mr. President, out of the approximately 580 days (as at December 29, 2024) you have been in office, it is reported that you have spent over 30%, or around 180 days, on more than 30 publicly recorded overseas trips.

“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”.

According to him, this 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,” the former Anambra Governor said

Also recalling how he took former President Olusegun Obasanjo on a road trip from Awka to Onitsha during his tenure as Governor of Anambra State, Obi said that journey prompted Obasanjo to immediately approve the reconstruction of parts of the federal highway by the Anambra State government, with subsequent reimbursement coming from the Federal Government.

For him, President Tinubu should consider undertaking both impromptu and planned visits to the nation’s tertiary institutions, to familiarise himself with the available infrastructure, facilities, and amenities, adding; “As Commander-in-Chief, visit our military formations and security agencies, especially during their field operations, and provide them with morale-boosting assurances and support for operational efficiency. Reiterate that they and their families will always be taken care of.”

Taking further swipe at the government, the Labour Party candidate 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.”

On Nigeria’s rising debt profile, he said; “All future borrowing must be tied to regenerative investments and visible, productive assets that benefit the nation. This will ensure both productivity and the ability to service and amortize such loans, rather than continuing the current practice of accumulating massive debt with no tangible returns, which places undue strain on future development revenue.”

Overall, the opposition Leader said Nigerians need to always hear directly from their President, not through his proxies, noting that it is important to have a quarterly presentation and update on what his Presidency is doing to improve the country’s situation amid the current economic hardship.

From May 29, 2023 when he formally took the oath of office, President Tinubu has so far spent 584 days in office as of 2nd January 2025.

Still consider early days for President Tinubu to travel out of the country this new year 2025, between 2023 and 2024, he went to about 16 countries, including those visited more than once since his assumption of office.

On the list of countries visited by President Tinubu are Malabo, Equatorial Guinea; London, the United Kingdom (four times); Bissau, Guinea-Bissau (twice); Nairobi, Kenya; Porto Norvo, Benin Republic; The Hague, Netherlands; Pretoria, South Africa; and Accra, Ghana.

Others include; New Delhi, India; Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates; New York, the United States of America; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (twice); Berlin, Germany; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Dakar, Senegal and Doha, Qatar.

Interestingly, some of the trips that were on the front burner include the August 29 visit to Beijing, China, where President Tinubu held bilateral talks with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, and subsequently attended the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, before leaving China for the UK, where he spent seven days, and returned to Abuja on September 14, 2024.

On October 2, a day after attending the 64th Independence Day anniversary, Tinubu departed Abuja for the UK again for a two-week working leave where he spent nine days before proceeding to Paris, France, on what his Senior Special Assistant on Political and Other Matters, Ibrahim Masari described as an ‘important engagement’.

Available data from GovSpend, a portal documenting the Presidential Villa expenditure, also showed that the government spent N2.3 billion on foreign trips and related expenses within six months in 2024 with the highlights covering the costs of presidential travels between February 21 and July 19, 2024. – With additional reports from Daily Trust