Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has criticised President Bola Tinubu for staying in France when there are urgent national issues deserving his attention in Nigeria.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by his media office, Atiku said the country “is in a full-blown state of emergency,” citing the killings in Plateau and Benue states and the resurgence of Boko Haram terrorists in Borno.
On April 2, Tinubu departed for France on a two-week “working visit”.
The presidency said during the “short working visit,” Tinubu will review his administration’s achievements so far.
But the opposition has knocked the president over the trip and asked him to return home to address the spiralling insecurity in the country.
Earlier on Wednesday, Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in 2023, asked the president to suspend his France retreat amid the worsening insecurity back home.
The former Anambra governor described Tinubu as a “retreating president” and said the nation is facing a wave of violent crimes without visible leadership.
Also, in his statement, Atiku said the president’s “working visit” in France is nothing more than a vacation cloaked in official jargon, describing it as a “dereliction of duty on a catastrophic scale”.
“On April 2, 2025, President Bola Tinubu flew out to France. Had this absurd announcement come just a day earlier, Nigerians would have dismissed it as an April Fool’s joke. But sadly, it’s no prank — just another insult to a nation pushed to the brink by a presidency that treats its citizens like fools,” the statement reads.
“The official excuse? A so-called “working visit.” But Nigerians aren’t buying the spin. The presidency scrambled to clarify that it wasn’t a medical trip — how noble. But even if it’s not medical tourism, what justification is there for gallivanting across Europe while Nigeria bleeds? What kind of leader borrows billions only to blow scarce funds on vanity trips abroad? It’s not just irresponsible— it’s contemptuous.
“Let the facts speak for themselves. By the time Tinubu struts back from this latest escapade, he will have racked up a staggering 59 days in France since assuming office. “See Paris and die?” No — see Paris and abandon your country.
“While Tinubu dines under chandeliers in the land of good governance, the country he governs is spiraling into chaos. Plateau has turned into a killing field — over 100 lives lost in relentless attacks. Benue is bleeding. Boko Haram is seizing territory. And every single day, Nigerians sink deeper into poverty, insecurity and despair.
“This isn’t just negligence. It’s dereliction of duty on a catastrophic scale.
“If Tinubu had even a shred of empathy, he would cut his trip short and return immediately. A leader with an ounce of patriotism wouldn’t need to be begged to show up in times of crisis. The constitution says the security and welfare of the people is the primary purpose of government. But under Tinubu, that sacred duty has been trashed.
“Let’s be honest: there is absolutely nothing Tinubu is doing in France that he couldn’t do in Lagos, or even in Iragbiji. This so-called “working visit” is nothing more than a vacation cloaked in official jargon.
“Nigeria is in a full-blown state of emergency. Not a contrived political emergency like what Tinubu declared in Rivers for partisan gain — this is a national collapse. So when, exactly, will Tinubu declare a state of emergency on his own disastrous presidency?”
