Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, has called on President Bola Tinubu to sit down and work, prioritize domestic issues to reduce his overseas trips.
Obi highlighted that out of the approximately 580 days President Tinubu has been in office as of December 29, 2024, he has spent over 30% of that time, or about 180 days, abroad on more than 30 publicly recorded trips.
During a media chat on Thursday in Abuja, Obi emphasized the need for selfless and exemplary leadership in 2025. He noted that while Tinubu has not traveled abroad this year, he visited at least 16 countries in 2023 and 2024, including multiple visits to some.
The President’s international destinations included Malabo, Equatorial Guinea; London, United Kingdom (four times); Bissau, Guinea-Bissau (twice); Nairobi, Kenya; Porto Novo, Benin Republic; The Hague, Netherlands; Pretoria, South Africa; Accra, Ghana; New Delhi, India; Abu Dhabi and Dubai, United Arab Emirates; New York, USA; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (twice); Berlin, Germany; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Dakar, Senegal; and Doha, Qatar.
One notable trip was on August 29 to Beijing, China, where President Tinubu held bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and attended the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. He then traveled to the UK for a seven-day stay before returning on September 14. In October, Tinubu again visited the UK for a two-week working leave, followed by a trip to Paris, France.
According to Daily Trust, President Tinubu’s government spent N2.3 billion on foreign trips and related expenses within six months in 2024, as documented by GovSpend, a portal tracking Presidential Villa expenditure.
Obi suggested that President Tinubu should spend roughly 72 days visiting each of Nigeria’s 36 states for two days each to better understand the country’s economic and security challenges. He also urged the President to conduct his next medical examination at a national hospital or regional federal medical center to assess the state of healthcare facilities.
Obi recalled taking former President Olusegun Obasanjo on a trip from Awka to Onitsha on a federal highway during his tenure as Governor of Anambra State. The journey prompted Obasanjo to approve the reconstruction of parts of the road by the Anambra State government, with subsequent reimbursement by the federal government.
Obi also encouraged President Tinubu to make impromptu and planned visits to tertiary institutions, military formations, and security agencies to boost morale and provide support. He stressed the importance of visiting internally displaced persons (IDP) camps to assure displaced Nigerians of their eventual return to their communities.
Furthermore, Obi called for aggressive attention to combating corruption, emphasizing the need for transparency and accountability in public procurement and contract award processes. He insisted that all future borrowing should be tied to regenerative investments and productive assets that benefit the nation.
Obi concluded by stating that Nigerians need to hear directly from President Tinubu, not through proxies, and called for quarterly updates on the President’s efforts to improve the situation in Nigeria.
