By Luminous Jannamike
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has faulted President Bola Tinubu’s decision to extend his working vacation in Europe and stay away from the 81st United Nations General Assembly, UNGA, in New York. The party said the President’s absence had come at a difficult time for Nigerians, with insecurity rising, economic conditions remaining troubling and citizens grappling with what it described as renewed hopelessness. In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Interim National Working Committee, Comrade Ini Ememobong, the PDP said Tinubu, having sought the presidency and been sworn into office, remained accountable to Nigerians and could not expect citizens to stop asking questions about how he discharged his responsibilities. “If the President is not in Nigeria solving the problems of the country, he should be at UNGA seeking international help for the country,” Ememobong said.
The PDP said the President’s decision to remain on vacation was difficult to reconcile with the realities confronting Nigerians, arguing that the country’s security and economic challenges demanded his attention. “No reasonable parent or caretaker goes on vacation when his house is burning,” the party said.
It also took issue with what it described as the Presidency’s attitude towards Nigerians questioning the President’s absence, insisting that citizens had a right to demand accountability from the person they entrusted with the nation’s highest office. “We must remind the President and the Presidency that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu sought for this 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 said.
The opposition party further questioned why Tinubu, having travelled to Europe, would not proceed to the United States for UNGA, describing the annual gathering as an important opportunity for Nigeria to seek international support. The PDP said the President should either be in Nigeria tackling the country’s problems or at the global forum seeking assistance for them. “There is no greater insult to the presidential mandate than this,” the party said. According to the PDP, the President’s absence from both Nigeria and UNGA was particularly troubling because, while he was on vacation in Europe, the President of the country where he was staying was attending the global summit.
The party said Nigerians should take note of what it described as the ‘disrespect and disdain’ shown by the Presidency towards citizens demanding that the President execute the responsibilities of his office. It subsequently urged Nigerians to allow the controversy to inform their choices at the next presidential election, saying the country needed a leader prepared to work both within Nigeria and internationally. “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 said. Recall that the Presidency had announced that Tinubu extended his working vacation by a few days and would return to Nigeria at the weekend.
It said Vice President Kashim Shettima, who left Abuja for New York on September 20, would represent the President at the 81st UNGA and present Nigeria’s national statement.
