{"id":129700,"date":"2026-09-28T07:28:31","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T06:28:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=129700"},"modified":"2026-09-28T07:28:31","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T06:28:31","slug":"atiku-obi-question-tinubus-prolonged-absence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/exclusive\/atiku-obi-question-tinubus-prolonged-absence\/","title":{"rendered":"Atiku, Obi Question Tinubu\u2019s Prolonged Absence"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>By John Azu<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Opposition figures Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi have questioned President Bola Tinubu\u2019s prolonged absence from Nigeria following successive changes to the date earlier announced for his return from Europe.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Tinubu travelled to Paris, France, on August 30, 2026, as part of what the Presidency described as a working vacation, after spending time in London, United Kingdom.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Presidency initially announced September 21 as the president\u2019s return date, but the date was later shifted to Sunday, September 27, and subsequently to Tuesday, September 29.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Reacting to the development, Atiku\u2019s African Democratic Congress (ADC) on Sunday called on the Presidency to provide Nigerians with a comprehensive explanation for the president\u2019s continued absence.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In a statement signed by the Director of Media and Publicity of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Kola Ologbondiyan, the party said the Presidency should clarify the status of Tinubu\u2019s vacation and address concerns over the extension of his stay abroad.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cThe Presidency must also clarify the status of the President\u2019s vacation and explain the constitutional basis for the current arrangement, particularly where the President remains away from the country beyond the period earlier communicated to Nigerians,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The ADC said Nigerians deserved transparency regarding the president\u2019s movements and the exercise of executive authority, particularly when the president remained outside the country beyond the initially announced period.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The party urged the Presidency to provide clear information to avoid what it described as growing public anxiety and speculation.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Similarly, Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), questioned Tinubu\u2019s absence from the ongoing 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, United States.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Peter Obi Media Room (POMR), in a statement signed by Idris Zekeri Jnr, shared Obi\u2019s remarks on X, in which the former Anambra State governor referred to Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama\u2019s address at the UN General Assembly.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Obi noted that Tinubu began a three-week working vacation in Europe on August 30 as part of his annual leave, but said the president\u2019s return date had subsequently been shifted.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">He also questioned Tinubu\u2019s absence from the UN General Assembly and other international engagements, while acknowledging that Vice President Kashim Shettima was present at the global gathering.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cMany are asking: Where is the President of Africa\u2019s most populous nation, a country of more than 200 million people\u2014more than Ghana\u2014whose leader has been absent from the global stage for three consecutive UNGAs?\u201d Obi said.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">He added: \u201cNigeria\u2019s President, who ought to be representing and guiding the continent at the international level, has not attended any of these three global gatherings.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cWhere is he, particularly at a time when the country faces significant challenges both domestically and internationally?\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Obi called on Nigerians to continue praying for Tinubu\u2019s return and leadership, while concluding with his familiar expression that \u201ca New Nigeria is possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Presidency has said Tinubu is expected to return to Nigeria on Tuesday, September 29.<\/p>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By John Azu Opposition figures Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi have questioned President Bola Tinubu\u2019s prolonged absence from Nigeria following successive changes to the date earlier announced for his return&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":129701,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-129700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Atiku, Obi Question Tinubu\u2019s Prolonged Absence - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" 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