By Omeiza Ajayi
The camp of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Thursday slammed President Bola Tinubu for exhibiting what it called a “disturbing pattern of absentee leadership” following a series of brief public appearances and missed engagements in Lagos and Plateau States.
Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication to the former vice president, Phrank Shaibu, in a statement, described the president’s recent conduct as “troubling and unacceptable,” specifically noting a perceived lack of empathy following recent security breaches.
A primary point of contention in the statement was the president’s recent trip to Plateau State, which came on the heels of a devastating terrorist attack.
Shaibu described the visit as “shockingly brief and perfunctory,” noting that the president “spent barely ten minutes at the Jos Airport before departing, an act widely perceived as dismissive of the gravity of the tragedy.”
The statement argued that the justification for the short visit, that the president needed to reach Lagos for official engagements, has been “rendered hollow” by subsequent events.
According to the Atiku camp, the president’s two-day working visit to Lagos State has been defined more by his absence than his participation.
Shaibu claimed that since arriving, the president has remained “largely confined to his private residence, with little to no visible engagement in the very activities meant to validate the so-called working visit.”
The statement specifically pointed to the commissioning of the Opebi–Mende–Ojota Link Bridge and the inauguration of a Multi-Agency Complex as events the president missed.
Shaibu noted that Tinubu “failed to personally attend, instead delegating these significant national duties to the Senate President, a close political ally.”
The statement linked Tinubu’s perceived detachment to broader concerns, including “recent precautionary actions taken by the United States Government regarding its personnel in Nigeria.”
“At a time when Nigeria is grappling with worsening insecurity, rising terrorist attacks, and growing international concern, such indifference at the highest level of leadership is both alarming and indefensible,” Shaibu stated.
He described the administration as “a presidency that appears detached, disengaged, and disturbingly casual about the weighty obligations of governance.”
The statement also demanded a shift in the president’s approach to his duties, reminding the administration that “leadership is not a ceremonial privilege; it is a solemn duty.”
“We therefore call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to urgently recalibrate his approach to governance, re-engage fully with the demands of his office, and demonstrate the seriousness of purpose required to confront the daunting challenges facing our nation. Anything less would amount to a grave disservice to the Nigerian people,” Shaibu said.
