Former Senate President, Senator Adolphus Wabara, has criticized the recent overseas trips taken concurrently by President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima.
Speaking on Sunday in Abuja, Wabara described the frequent trips of the country’s first two citizens abroad as “the height of executive rascality” and a clear neglect of their leadership responsibilities.
The chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees (BoT) was reacting to President Tinubu’s two-week working visit to France and Vice President Shettima’s travel to Dakar, Senegal, where he represented Nigeria during the country’s 65th Independence Day celebration on April 4.
The former lawmaker lamented that both leaders’ absence amounted to leaving the country without top-level leadership.
He described their actions as a major lapse in duty and a troubling sign of disregard for Nigerians, especially at a time when the country faces serious national challenges.
Although he acknowledged the president’s right to travel when necessary, Wabara stressed that protocol demands that power be formally transferred to the vice president in an acting capacity.
He questioned the rationale behind both top officials being abroad at the same time, saying if Nigeria needed representation in Senegal, the task could have been handled by the minister of foreign affairs or another senior official.
He said the decision to travel despite the weight of ongoing national concerns—ranging from rising political tensions in Edo, Rivers, and Bayelsa States to worsening security conditions in parts of the North and Middle Belt—was not only reckless but deeply disrespectful to the people of Nigeria.
“It is shocking to hear that the two highest-ranking officials of the country could leave simultaneously, leaving no one at the helm of affairs. Nigeria is not a toy. This sort of absence reflects a lack of seriousness and disregard for the oath of office they swore to uphold,” Wabara stated.
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He further criticized the administration’s priorities, asking how both leaders could ignore multiple crises—such as attacks in Plateau, Zamfara, Sokoto, and Benue states—as well as growing insecurity across the country. He said this dual absence reflects either an overwhelming of responsibilities or a lack of preparedness to govern.
Wabara also urged the National Assembly to rise to its constitutional role of oversight, warning against what he termed a growing culture of impunity and unchecked power in the executive arm.
He concluded by calling on President Tinubu to adopt internationally accepted democratic standards and governance procedures, warning that continued neglect of proper leadership would only expose Nigeria to ridicule on the global stage.
“Governance is a serious matter. Leaving the nation in limbo, even temporarily, sends the wrong message to both citizens and the international community,” he said.
© Ripples Nigeria