The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has dismissed claims that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is missing or absent from governance, insisting that the president remains actively engaged in the demanding business of statecraft, including policy coordination, security management, diplomacy and economic reforms.
The party made this known on Tuesday in a statement issued by its spokesperson, Seye Oladejo, titled “Where’s the President? – The Cry of an Analog Aspirant,” in response to comments attributed to the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, who questioned President Tinubu’s frequent foreign travels.
President Tinubu had arrived in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Sunday to attend the 2026 edition of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW 2026), which commenced on Monday. He was invited to the event by the President of the UAE, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
According to the Lagos APC, Obi’s remarks reflected what it described as a fixation on optics rather than an understanding of the realities of governance in a modern state. The party stressed that Tinubu’s engagements, whether within or outside the country, are driven strictly by national interest and not by the expectations of political critics.
The APC said that while Obi focuses on the president’s physical presence, the Tinubu administration is delivering tangible outcomes through decisive economic reforms, strategic security interventions and robust diplomatic engagements that are repositioning Nigeria on the global stage.
“One wonders whether Mr. Obi’s fixation stems from a limited appreciation of executive responsibility,” the statement read, adding that leadership should be measured by outcomes rather than constant visibility in the public space.
The party maintained that President Tinubu remains fully in charge constitutionally, operationally and morally, directing the affairs of the nation with focus and resolve. It noted that the country requires a leader who works purposefully, sometimes quietly, rather than one preoccupied with public performance.
The Lagos APC advised Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, to “upgrade his political firmware,” arguing that Nigeria has moved beyond what it termed “analog politics of grandstanding and hollow soundbites.”
It will be recalled that Obi, in a statement posted on his verified X account on Monday, questioned the president’s whereabouts, citing concerns over the scale of national challenges and what he described as the absence of direct presidential engagement at a critical period.
