APC, ADC Trade Words Over Tinubu’s Europe Trip

The All Progressives Congress (APC) and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) have exchanged sharp words over President Bola Tinubu’s recent trip to Europe, with the ruling party dismissing the opposition’s criticism as misplaced and politically motivated.

The Lagos State chapter of the APC, in a statement issued on Monday by its spokesman, Seye Oladejo, described the ADC’s attack on the president as a “hollow outburst”.

Oladejo said Tinubu’s foreign engagements were part of strategic leadership in a globalised world, stressing that serious governance required constant interaction with international partners, investors and development institutions.

According to him, the President’s Europe trip was aimed at advancing Nigeria’s economic interests, strengthening bilateral relations, attracting investments and enhancing the country’s global standing.

“Nigeria is not governed from a village square,” Oladejo said.

“In an interconnected world, serious leadership entails constant engagement with global partners, investors, development institutions, and strategic allies,” the APC spokesman said, adding that the machinery of government continued to function effectively through institutional structures and delegated authority.

He accused the ADC of lacking ideas and credible policy alternatives, alleging that the opposition had resorted to monitoring the President’s travels rather than offering solutions to Nigeria’s challenges.

The APC further argued that Tinubu’s international engagements were aligned with Nigeria’s economic recovery agenda, foreign direct investment drive, energy transition objectives and infrastructure financing needs.

“Only the intellectually lazy would assume that leadership is confined to physical presence within national borders. President Tinubu governs with intent, structure, and continuity. The machinery of government remains firmly in motion at all times, driven by clear policy direction, delegated authority, and institutional strength. Nigeria does not grind to a halt simply because the President is engaging the world on behalf of her people,” Oladejo said.

“The ADC’s fixation on travel once again exposes its chronic lack of ideas. Having nothing concrete to offer Nigerians-no roadmap, no credible economic alternative, no security blueprint-it has resorted to monitoring flight schedules and issuing press releases rooted in envy and ignorance. This obsession betrays a party still struggling to understand the demands of modern governance,”

However, the ADC had earlier criticised the President’s trip, citing the country’s security situation.

ADC spokesman, Bolaji Abdullahi, in a post on his X handle on Sunday, faulted Tinubu for travelling to Europe amid what he described as widespread uncertainty and insecurity, particularly following a recent bomb explosion in Zamfara State.

The incident, reportedly caused by explosives planted by suspected terrorists on a highway, left several travellers dead and others injured,

Abdullahi accused the President of failing to address Nigerians promptly over the development.

He stated that Nigerians were anxious and awaiting reassurance from the President, only to learn of his departure from the country.

“In the wake of yet another deadly bomb blast in Zamfara, to which the President has not said a single word; on the back of an unprecedented foreign military attack on Nigerian soil; right in the middle of all the uncertainty it has provoked; with a confused and scared nation waiting for the President to speak to us and assure us that all is well, the next thing we hear is that the President has gone on holiday,” Abdullahi stated.

According to the Presidency, the trip was part of Tinubu’s end-of-year break and ahead of an official engagement in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

A statement on Sunday by the President’s spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed that Tinubu would attend the 2026 Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW 2026) Summit at the invitation of the UAE President, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The statement added that the summit would hold from January 11 to January 17, 2026, after which the President would return to Nigeria.

There are growing concerns about Tinubu’s foreign trips. As of October 2025, he has embarked on 46 trips, spending a total of 192 days outside Nigeria.