Tinubu, Shettima first president, VP to make it habit of abandoning Nigeria’s leadership – Odinkalu

Former NHRC Chairman Chidi Odinkalu has criticized President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima for frequently abandoning Nigeria without providing proper leadership. Currently, Tinubu is on an extended vacation in Paris while Shettima attends the UN General Assembly in New York. Odinkalu argues that the absence of Tinubu and Shettima is unprecedented, as former presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Musa Yar'Adua, and Muhammadu Buhari would always hand over power to their vice presidents when they stepped away from the country.

Appearing on Channels Television's Politics Today, Odinkalu stated, "This is the first administration where the vice president and the president are making it a habit to leave the country without providing proper leadership. It never happened before. Usually, it's been a common rule and a strong tradition in government that no president would leave the country while the vice president was also away.

It never happened." He emphasized that it was not permitted and highlighted that no president, including Buhari, Obasanjo, Yar'Adua, and Jonathan, would contemplate this during their time in office.

Odinkalu further explained that Section 145 of the constitution does not permit a "working vacation" while abroad. He added, "Under Obasanjo, Obasanjo would never contemplate it. Yar'Adua did not contemplate it. Jonathan did not allow it."