Tinubu, Shettima under fire over trip abroad, details emerge

• Laolu Akande, the spokesperson of the vice president, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, has condemned the foreign trips of President Tinubu and VP Kashim Shettima
• In an interview on Thursday, Akande emphasized the importance of having at least one of the two leaders present to maintain effective governance and communication
• Akande spoke after presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga defended the leaders' absence, asserting that there is no governance vacuum as they remain engaged in national affairs

Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.

Former presidential spokesman, Laolu Akande, said it is not ideal for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima to leave governance for foreign trips simultaneously.

Tinubu, Shettima’s foreign trip stirs concern. Photo credit: Kashim Shettima, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu
Source: Facebook

Akande spoke on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Thursday, October 17.

“It is important for one of them to be on the ground because the work of governance requires a lot of hand-holding,” he said.“In my view, we still have a very serious problem of sustained trust in the relationship between the President and the Vice President over time,” Akande added.

While Tinubu departed Nigeria on October 2, 2024, for a two-week work leave in the United Kingdom, Shettima left Abuja on Wednesday, October 16, for Sweden on a two-day visit to represent Nigeria in bilateral engagements with the Scandinavian nation.

In a statement on Wednesday, presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said the two leaders “are fully engaged with the nation’s affairs, even while they are away” and there is no vacuum in governance.

However, Akande said:

“The ideal thing is for us not to have a situation where both the president and the vice president are not in town, that’s the ideal situation.“I remember that during the eight years I served, that happened only once during the burial of the Queen (of England) which also fell at the same time as the UNGA and I knew how the president and the vice president were checking on each other to ensure that somebody gets back.“So, in eight years, they managed to ensure that for the most part, one person is always on the ground. I know quite a few times when the vice president had to just wrap up foreign trips because something happened and the president will have to travel.”

Presidency gives update on Tinubu’s health

In a related development, Legit.ng reported that Ibrahim Kabir Masari, the senior special assistant to President Tinubu on political and other matters, shed light on the Nigerian leader's health in France.

Speaking in a new interview with DCL Hausa, Masari said contrary to what some government critics are insinuating, his principal is not battling any severe health challenge and is in a fine state of mind.

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Source: Legit.ng