Obi Slams Tinubu’s Frequent Foreign Trips, Reno Omokri Disputes Claims

• Ex-Anambra governor says president spent 196 days abroad in 2025

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

A presidential hopeful and former Governor of Anambra state, Peter Obi, yesterday accused President Bola Tinubu of neglecting Nigerians despite its many challenges, stressing that the president’s frequent foreign travels had become a matter of grave concern.

In a treatise he posted on his official X handle, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general election, who insinuated that the whereabouts of the Nigerian leader is currently unknown, argued that since December 2025, Nigerians have not heard a word from their President.

But in a response, author and ambassador-designate, Reno Omokri, accused Obi of lying, pointing out that every Nigerian who follows the news knows precisely where Tinubu is, declaring that  the presidency has been open and transparent about it.

However, Obi maintained that Nigeria, home to approximately 140 million people living in extreme poverty, the hungriest population globally, staggering insecurity, an unemployment rate exceeding 80 million, and one of the worst places to be born, shouldn’t be burdened with an absentee leader.

“In the midst of this chaos, where has our President been? Spending 196 days abroad in 2025 alone—more than he has spent within his own country, at a time when we face profound crises. Since December 2025, Nigerians have not heard a word from their President.

“Reports indicate he opted for a holiday in Europe while the nation was plunged into a New Year marked by hunger, anxiety, and uncertainty. There was no New Year address, no national broadcast, no leadership voice to provide reassurance or guidance.

“This lack of presence starkly contrasts with what we see in comparable developing nations where leaders step up in times of crisis. In Nigeria, following US military strikes on our soil, our President remained silent. Instead of directly addressing the nation, Nigerians learned about these critical events from foreign media, American officials, and the vague communications from the Presidency’s aides known for their propaganda, rather than from their own leader.

“This is not governance; it’s neglect. The President was seen abroad yet again for another summit while remaining absent from his own country when he is needed the most. Earlier this year, he even sent an AI-generated image to the nation instead of addressing his people face-to-face,” Obi emphasised.

Stressing that leadership is not simply issuing press releases, but about standing before the people, engaging with them, and offering clarity, Obi stated that Nigerians were not asking for perfection, but we’re demanding presence.

He argued that Nigerians are eager to hear from their President through direct media briefings and deserve to understand the state of their country. Obi pointed out that Tinubu cannot run Nigeria like a personal business or a private club, stressing that it was imperative to rebuild and grow the economy through unity and clarity.

“Progress is impossible without unity and consensus, and it begins with strong leadership that sets the tone. No policy, reform, economic plan, or security measure can thrive in a divided nation. When leadership withdraws, unity falters, and the fabric of our society unravels under the weight of mistrust and division.

“In a time of crisis, the absence of leadership is not just troubling; it is perilous. Silence in the face of crisis is the loudest form of failure,” the politician cum businessman stated.

Responding, Omokri said the attack on the President by Obi marked a new low, describing the comments as ‘grossly irresponsible.”

Omokri emphasised that saying that nobody knows where the President is is a lie, explaining that every Nigerian who follows the news, knows precisely where Tinubu is, because the Presidency was open and transparent about it.

“President Bola Tinubu is currently in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, for the 2026 Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. Therefore, your question is mischievous and reflects, once again, your desperation to be President by any means necessary, including deliberately misleading the public about their President.

“On the specific allegation you made, to wit that ‘Since December 2025, Nigerians have not heard a word from their President”0’, that is a very blatant lie. President Bola Tinubu addressed the nation in a New Year’s Day broadcast. Before that, the President visited Nigerian citizens in Borno, Bauchi, and Lagos States from Saturday, December 21, 2025, to Tuesday, December 23, 2025.

“While on these visits, the President attended the wedding ceremony of Sadeeq Sheriff, son of the former Governor of the State, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, and his betrothed, Hadiza Kam Salem, in Maiduguri, Borno State. Thereafter, he visited Bauchi State to condole with the family of Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi, before flying to Lagos, where he mixed with everyday Nigerians, following which he went on a short vacation as allowed by the Constitution,” Omokri stated.

Describing it as grossly inappropriate and dishonest to term it as ‘neglect’, Omokri insisted that the characterisation of the President’s international travels as a dereliction of duty showed Obi’s poor grasp of statecraft.

“Let me educate you a bit. Your mentor, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, spent 342 days travelling abroad in the eight years that he governed Nigeria, yet you celebrate him. That is one whole year out of eight years! Mind you, this was during the time of the Sharia Crisis and the Niger-Delta militancy.

“It was because of those travels that President Obasanjo secured debt relief for Nigeria. A President cannot sit in his own country and expect the investments that will make his country great to come to him. That is why President Tinubu engages in shuttle diplomacy. And we are seeing the result.

“The President attended the BRICS Summit in Brazil in July and returned with a $2.5 billion investment in Nigeria by Brazilian meat producer JBS. The President also travelled to Qatar, and now Qatari investors have pledged to invest $300 billion in Nigeria.

“Such visits are why, in less than two years, President Tinubu added $67 billion to Nigeria’s GDP, moving us from a N269.29 trillion economy on May 29, 2023, when he became President, to N372.8 trillion today,” Omokri stated.

He affirmed that it was also due to the foreign travels that Nigeria experienced a surge in foreign portfolio investment in 2025, with combined foreign investment reaching nearly $14 billion between Q1 and Q3 2025.

“All of these saw Nigeria delivering a projected GDP growth of 4.1 per cent in 2025. That you do not know this is proof, once again, that you are a trader, not a leader, and you are better off operating a stall at Onitsha Market than leading a country as complex as Nigeria!” Omokri maintained.