Adolphus Wabara criticises Tinubu and Shettima for leaving Nigeria “headless” during simultaneous foreign trips in early April 2025

Former Senate President and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Senator Adolphus Wabara, has strongly criticised President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima for embarking on foreign trips at the same time, describing the development as “the height of executive rascality.”

Speaking on Sunday, Wabara expressed deep concern over President Tinubu’s two-week working visit to France and Vice President Shettima’s journey to Dakar, Senegal, to represent Nigeria at the country’s 65th Independence Day celebrations on 4 April 2025. He condemned the duo for what he termed leaving Nigeria “headless” at a critical time.

“Mr President has the right to travel outside the country when necessary, but he should duly hand over power to his Vice President in an acting capacity,” Wabara said. “It is absolutely not proper for the VP who should be the Acting President to also travel out of the country while Mr President is still away.”

Wabara maintained that such actions amounted to dereliction of duty and a blatant disregard for the Nigerian people. He argued that if official representation in Senegal was required, the Minister of Foreign Affairs should have been assigned the role, not the Vice President.

The former Senate President, who currently serves as Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees, said he was “baffled” by what he called the “abandonment of governance” by both the President and Vice President.

“It’s shocking to hear that the President and his Vice both travelled out of Nigeria at the same time,” he said. “How can the country be burning, and the number one and number two citizens be away? This can only happen in Nigeria.”

Wabara pointed to several pressing national issues—rising tensions in Edo State, insecurity in the North, and political unrest in Rivers and Bayelsa—as reasons why top leadership should not have vacated the country. He described their absence as a gross misplacement of priorities and a show of “utter disdain” for their constitutional responsibilities.

“With the bloodbath in Plateau, Zamfara, Sokoto and Benue; the festering insecurity in many states; and the political crisis in others, travelling out of Nigeria is the last thing to expect from any serious-minded and patriotic leader,” Wabara stated.

He went further to accuse the current administration of demonstrating a lack of preparedness and an alarming disregard for due process. According to him, their actions are diminishing Nigeria’s democratic values on the global stage.

The PDP elder called on the National Assembly to rise to its constitutional duty by holding the executive accountable and halting what he termed “executive rascality” before it becomes a norm.

Wabara concluded by urging the President to adhere to established governance practices and restore confidence in Nigeria’s democratic system.