Key Takeaways
- Atiku Abubakar’s media aide, Paul Ibe, has asked the Presidency to give Nigerians a definite return date for President Bola Tinubu’s Makkah trip.
- Ibe said the Presidency’s announcement that Tinubu would return next week was insufficient and demanded a specific date and timely updates.
- Ibe urged Tinubu to notify the National Assembly under Section 145 if the trip was a vacation or he became unable to perform his duties.
The camp of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has demanded transparency from the Presidency over President Bola Tinubu’s ongoing trip to Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
Naija News reports that Atiku’s media aide, Paul Ibe, posted on 𝕏, urging the President not to let the pilgrimage raise doubts about his whereabouts or his fitness to govern.
Ibe said that while prayers matter, Nigerians also need the President to tackle insecurity and economic hardship with concrete action.
“It is good to pray and maintain a relationship with Almighty God, the author and finisher of our faith. But faith must be accompanied by action. Nigerians need prayers, and they also need competent leadership,” he said.
He wished Tinubu a rewarding pilgrimage but advised him to focus more on governance than politics when he returns.
“Nigerians cannot survive on presidential intentions alone,” Ibe added.
The Atiku aide said the Presidency’s statement that the President would return next week was not enough, insisting on a specific date and timely updates.
“We expect this journey to conclude as announced, without an unexplained detour to France or elsewhere,” he wrote.
He said if the President needed medical treatment, the public should be told the truth about how it would affect his return and his ability to function.
