The Allied People’s Movement (APM) has faulted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s three-week leave in Europe, asking the Presidency to clear the air over concerns about his health status.
Tinubu jetted out of the country on Sunday for a three-week leave in Europe, with London as his first destination.
The party urged the Presidency to officially furnish Nigerians with information on the President’s health, as well as details of his extended leave, including his itinerary, entourage and schedule while he is out of Nigeria.
The National Publicity Secretary of the APM, Mr Abubakar Yusuf, conveyed the party’s demand in a statement issued in Abuja on Monday.
Yusuf said the President’s decision to embark on a lengthy vacation at a time when he was expected to lead efforts to address the country’s security and economic challenges had raised concerns among Nigerians.
He noted, ‘The Tinubu Presidency should immediately clear the air over apprehensions in the public space that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu may have become incapacitated, leading to his lengthy three-week leave in Europe.’
The APM spokesman also called on the President to provide answers to allegations concerning his reported link to an FBI report on a drug-related case, arguing that the circumstances surrounding his absence had heightened public apprehension.
‘There is nothing wrong in the Presidency clearing the air on the state of health of Mr President, as obtainable in other climes,’ the APM stated.
While acknowledging that ‘nobody is above human frailties,’ the party said Nigerians deserved transparency on the President’s condition and ability to discharge his constitutional responsibilities.
However, the party upbraided the Tinubu administration, describing its record in office as poor and accusing the government of worsening the country’s economic and security challenges.
The APM claimed that the administration’s economic policies, including the removal of the petroleum subsidy and its tax regime, had pushed millions of Nigerians into poverty and placed additional pressure on businesses and households.
It also alleged that Nigeria’s debt had risen to N159.28 trillion under the Tinubu administration, with little to show for the borrowings. The party further claimed that some of the funds had been diverted to other interests.
On insecurity, the party alleged that more than 628,000 Nigerians had been killed and 2.2 million abducted since Tinubu assumed office in May 2023.
The APM urged the President to use his leave to reflect on his administration’s record and reconsider his reported intention to seek re-election in 2027.
Yusuf said, ‘The APM urges President Tinubu to use the period of the leave to introspect on his legacy of failures and rescind his decision to run in the 2027 Presidential race, having been overwhelmed by the pressing demands of the office of the President of a nation like Nigeria.’
The party argued that the demands of the presidency required an energetic leader with the vitality, capacity and faculties to respond to contemporary leadership challenges.
It said Nigeria needed a younger leader capable of providing effective leadership, urging Tinubu to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race and support the APM’s presidential candidate, Engr. Seyi Makinde.
According to the APM, Makinde has demonstrated the required leadership capacity through his administration of Oyo State, which it claimed had become one of Nigeria’s economically viable states, citing data from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).
The APM said it wanted Makinde to replicate what it described as ‘his achievements’ in Oyo State at the national level.