Laolu Akande, former presidential spokesperson, has condemned the absence of both President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima at the same time, saying the development is not ideal.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Thursday, Akande said it was not ideal for both of them to leave governance for foreign trips simultaneously.
“It is important for one of them to be on the ground because the work of governance requires a lot of hand-holding.
“In my view, we still have a very serious problem of sustained trust in the relationship between the President and the Vice President over time,” Akande added.
While Tinubu departed Nigeria on October 2, 2024, for a two-week work leave in the United Kingdom, Shettima left Abuja on Wednesday for Sweden on a two-day visit to represent Nigeria in bilateral engagements with the Scandinavian nation.
However, in a statement on Wednesday, presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said the two leaders are fully engaged with the nation’s affairs, even while they are away, adding that there is no vacuum in governance.
Speaking further, Akande said, “The ideal thing is for us not to have a situation where both the president and the vice president are not in town, that’s the ideal situation.
“I remember that during the eight years I served, that happened only once during the burial of the Queen (of England) which also fell at the same time as the UNGA and I knew how the president and the vice president were checking on each other to ensure that somebody gets back.
“So, in eight years, they managed to ensure that for the most part, one person is always on the ground. I know quite a few times when the vice president had to just wrap up foreign trips because something happened and the president will have to travel.”
