PRESIDENTIAL spokeman, Mr Bayo Onanuga, is being dragged on social media platform, X, for posting a conflicting and vague statement on President Bola Tinubu’s trip to Europe. This is as netizens questioned why President Bola Tinubu failed to hand over power to Vice President Kahim Shettima.
Mr Onanuga had, on Thursday, informed Nigerians that President Tinubu was on annual leave, which he would be spending in Europe. However, he contradicted himself by stating that the president was equally on a working visit.
He had tweeted, “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will depart Abuja today, September 4, to commence a working vacation in Europe, as part of his 2025 annual leave. The vacation will last 10 working days. President Tinubu will spend the period between France and the UK and then return to the country.”
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Netizens reacted to the statement, urging the senior presidential spokesman to clarify whether the president would be going on a working visit to Europe or an annual vacation. They also wondered why the president refused to hand over power his his vice president if he was actually on vacation.
Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution says, “Whenever the President transmits to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a written declaration that he is proceeding on vacation or that he is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary such functions shall be discharged by the Vive President as Acting President.”
Critics say the president is entitled to an annual leave, noting that combining an annual leave and a working visit is conflicting and mischievous.
Reactions
A Nigerian with an X handle, @djokaymegamixer, posted a long response, asking Mr Onanuga to clarify what exactly the president will do in France and the United Kingdom during this 10-day vacation.
“Please publish a basic itinerary with objectives, named counterparts, and expected deliverables. That is standard practice when presidential travel is framed as working time. It also helps the public track outcomes, as seen when Paris visits produced specific agreements last year,” he wrote.
“There are persistent rumours that the President uses France and the UK for medical attention. Your office has repeatedly denied this. ICIR and other outlets have reported concerns, which you and your colleagues dismissed as baseless. Given the public interest, it would be helpful to address this issue transparently, rather than simply denying it. A clear medical travel policy for the presidency would settle speculation.
“The Constitution is unambiguous on handover during vacation. Section 145 requires the President to transmit a written declaration to the Senate President and the Speaker whenever he is proceeding on vacation, after which the Vice President acts until a contrary notice is sent. If the written declaration is not transmitted within 21 days, the National Assembly shall mandate the Vice President to act. Has the letter been transmitted for this leave? If yes, please publish the reference details. If not, why not?”
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Another X user, @redchampagnebox, wrote: “Is he not supposed to transmit a handover letter to the National Assembly requesting VP Shettima to preside over the affairs of the nation while he is away. He just added ‘working leave’ to hide his lack of trust in his VP. What is he afraid of Shettima that we don’t know about? Buhari as terrible as he was handed over to Osinbajo all the time he went on leave during his tenure. I don’t know how I would feel if I was Shettima. Very sad indeed.”
Still in response to Mr Onanuga’s post, another X user, @Ekoh4Ekoh, wrote: “Let him travel all over the world but he should have handed power over to his VP Shettima and not creating vacuum in the governance. Anyways, Tinubu is a One Term President as he has failed woefully in all aspects of governance.”
But there are also those who feel that the president deserves some rest. An X user, @egigba, noted: “He is entitled to annual leave…body nor be fire. The man needs rest…consiering his age too… politics aside.”
Another Nigerian, @WE_AR_ALL_WEIRD, wrote: A well-deserved leave my able president. The best African president ever. You’ve set Nigeria up for success, you deserve your breaks. The economy may be in shambles but that’s not your fault This is a well deserved vacation. Take 2 weeks please. And don’t mind Nigerians.” Whether this is a mockery of the situation or not is not clear.
