Former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s three-week vacation in Europe, saying the President should be more concerned about addressing the challenges facing the country.
Obi stressed that Nigeria is in deep crisis, saying Nigerians can barely afford food and transport.
The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) also stated that insecurity is ravaging communities, leaving thousands of children unable to access education.
“Just days ago, about 600 Nigerians, predominantly women, children, and the elderly, were reportedly abducted during Juma’at prayers in Niger State. Yet, at this critical moment, the President has left the country for another holiday,” he lamented.
Obi noted that government expenditure on presidential trips and related travel expenses between June 2023 and April 2026 amounted to about ₦37.64 billion, with the President spending approximately 261 days outside Nigeria.
“Meanwhile, only ₦36 million was reportedly released to the Federal Ministry of Health in 2025, despite a capital allocation of ₦218 billion, in a country of over 230 million people. This is the calamity befalling our country today,” he decried.
He argued that a government that can spend tens of billions on presidential travel while critical sectors remain starved of funds, and Nigerians are asked to endure worsening hardship, must not be allowed to continue.
“Leadership is about priorities,” he asserted. “When citizens cannot feed their families, move safely, access healthcare, send their children to school, or sleep peacefully in their homes, the President should be more concerned about fixing the country than repeatedly leaving it.”
Obi stated that he looked forward to a Nigeria where the President could go on vacation in Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Cross River, Bauchi, Ebonyi, and many other destinations across the country.
He emphasised that the President of Nigeria should be the chief marketer of Nigeria as a tourism destination, as other comparable countries do.
The former governor highlighted the economic possibilities of Nigerian leaders, celebrities, business communities, and citizens travelling within Nigeria more frequently.
He explained that tourism creates jobs and supports the hospitality, transportation, agriculture, entertainment, crafts and small-business sectors.
Obi further noted that tourism brings investment and foreign exchange, and allows communities to benefit directly from their natural and cultural assets.
He maintained that Nigeria cannot continue to export its wealth and import its pleasures while its own enormous potential remains neglected.
“We deserve leadership that puts Nigeria first; leadership that cares and plans for a better Nigeria. That is the kind of leadership that the partnership between H.E. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and me will bring,” he added.
