Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has strongly criticised President Bola Tinubu’s recent trip to France, describing it as irresponsible and tone-deaf amid worsening insecurity and economic hardship in the country.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by his media adviser Paul Ibe, Atiku questioned the rationale behind what the presidency described as a “working visit,” accusing Tinubu of abandoning his duties while the country faces a national crisis.
“Had this announcement come just a day earlier, Nigerians might have dismissed it as an April Fool’s joke,” Atiku said. “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.”
He pointed out that the President has now spent a cumulative 59 days in France since assuming office, raising concerns about his commitment to addressing Nigeria’s pressing challenges.
“See Paris and die? No — see Paris and abandon your country,” the former Vice President remarked. “While Tinubu dines under chandeliers in the land of good governance, the country he governs is spiraling into chaos.”
Atiku cited ongoing security breakdowns, including killings in Plateau and Benue states, as well as renewed threats from Boko Haram, describing the situation as a “full-blown state of emergency.”
“This isn’t just negligence. It’s dereliction of duty on a catastrophic scale,” he said.
He criticised the administration’s response to the crisis, accusing the President of prioritising luxury over leadership. “There is absolutely nothing Tinubu is doing in France that he couldn’t do in Lagos, or even in Iragbiji,” Atiku stated. “This so-called ‘working visit’ is nothing more than a vacation cloaked in official jargon.”
The former Vice President also took aim at the Tinubu administration’s earlier declaration of a political emergency in Rivers State, calling it “contrived” and “partisan,” while urging the President to acknowledge the true scale of the national crisis.
“Nigeria is in a full-blown state of emergency,” Atiku declared. “So when, exactly, will Tinubu declare a state of emergency on his own disastrous presidency?”