Former presidential aide Reno Omokri has slammed former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi over claims that President Bola Tinubu has abandoned governance by spending extended periods abroad.

Omokri’s response followed a post by Obi on his verified X handle on Monday, in which the ex-presidential candidate questioned the President’s whereabouts and described his prolonged absence as neglect of duty.

Replying via X the same day, Omokri accused Obi of “deliberately misleading Nigerians,” insisting that the President’s location and activities were transparently communicated by the Presidency.

He noted that President Tinubu is currently in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, attending the 2026 Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, a fact that had been publicly announced. Omokri also dismissed Obi’s claim that Nigerians had not heard from the President since December 2025, calling it “a very blatant lie.”

Omkori’s statement reads: “Dear Peter Obi,

“I read your most recent attack on the President, and it was a new low, even for you, and grossly irresponsible. Saying that nobody knows where the President is is a lie. You, and every other Nigerian who follows the news, know precisely where President Bola Tinubu is, because the Presidency was open and transparent about it.

“President Bola Tinubu is currently in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, for the 2026 Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. Therefore, your question is mischievous and reflects, once again, your desperation to be President by any means necessary, including deliberately misleading the public about their President.

“On the specific allegation you made, to wit that “Since December 2025, Nigerians have not heard a word from their President”, that is a very blatant lie.

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“President Bola Tinubu addressed the nation in a New Year’s Day broadcast. Before that, the President visited Nigerian citizens in Borno, Bauchi, and Lagos States from Saturday, December 21, 2025, to Tuesday, December 23, 2025.

“While on these visits, the President attended the wedding ceremony of Sadeeq Sheriff, son of the former Governor of the State, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, and his betrothed, Hadiza Kam Salem, in Maiduguri, Borno State.

“Thereafter, he visited Bauchi State to condole with the family of Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi, before flying to Lagos, where he mixed with everyday Nigerians, following which he went on a short vacation as allowed by the Constitution.

“It is grossly inappropriate and dishonest of you to term this as “neglect”.

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“Also, your characterisation of the President’s international travels as a dereliction of duty shows your poor grasp of statecraft. Let me educate you a bit.

“Your mentor, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, spent 342 days travelling abroad in the eight years that he governed Nigeria, yet you celebrate him. That is one whole year out of eight years!

“Mind you, this was during the time of the Sharia Crisis and the Niger-Delta Militancy.

“It was because of those travels that President Obasanjo secured debt relief for Nigeria.

“A President cannot sit in his own country and expect the investments that will make his country great to come to him.

“That is why President Tinubu engages in shuttle diplomacy. And we are seeing the result.

“The President attended the BRICS Summit in Brazil in July and returned with a $2.5 billion investment in Nigeria by Brazilian meat producer JBS.

“The President also travelled to Qatar, and now Qatari investors have pledged to invest $300 billion in Nigeria.

“Such visits are why, in less than two years, President Tinubu added $67 billion to Nigeria’s GDP, moving us from a ₦269.29 trillion economy on May 29, 2023, when he became President, to ₦372.8 trillion today.

“It is also why Nigeria experienced a surge in foreign portfolio investment in 2025, with combined foreign investment reaching nearly $14 billion between Q1 and Q3 2025.

“All of these saw Nigeria delivering a projected GDP growth of 4.1% in 2025.

“That you do not know this is proof, once again, that you are a trader, not a leader, and you are better off operating a stall at Onitsha Market than leading a country as complex as Nigeria!“