Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticized President Bola Tinubu’s decision to travel to Europe for three weeks, arguing that the timing reflects a “vacuum of political leadership” at a moment when Nigerians are struggling with high fuel prices, food costs, and insecurity.

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President Bola Tinubu departed Abuja on Sunday for Europe on a three-week annual leave, with London as first destination.

Reacting to the development , Atiku said that while he himself has lived and traveled abroad extensively as a private citizen, a sitting president carries a different burden of responsibility.

He argued that Tinubu’s trip was especially hard to justify given that the Vice President was already abroad on official duty, leaving what he described as a leadership gap at home.

“Consider what Bola Tinubu is leaving behind,” Atiku said, listing petrol prices beyond the reach of ordinary Nigerians, families rationing food, unaffordable transport fares, and ongoing insecurity.

He compared the situation to a father who “does not pick up his suitcase and head for the airport” while his house is burning.

Atiku said the issue was not that presidents should never travel or rest, but that the current crisis demanded the president’s presence. “Millions of Nigerians are being grounded by hardship while their President is airborne,” he said, adding that “a government that cannot feel the pain it inflicts will never summon the will to end it.”

He closed by contrasting his own economic message with the administration’s record: “Tinubu made Nigeria expensive. I will make Nigeria affordable again.”

Economist and public commentator Dr. Sam Amadi echoed the criticism, linking it to a broader pattern of health-related absences among Nigerian leaders.

“For 8 years we are having resting presidents,” Amadi said, arguing that Nigeria’s next president, to be elected in 2027, should be someone who does not require frequent extended rest periods.

Amadi stopped short of blaming Tinubu for health issues themselves, saying illness and age can affect anyone. But he argued the president bears responsibility for the timing of his rest.

“You stay back and rest well without endangering the common good,” Amadi said. “That is where it is his fault.”