The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over his delayed return to Nigeria after the recently concluded BRICS Summit in Brazil, demanding an explanation for his unexplained five-day absence.
The 2025 BRICS Summit held in Rio de Janeiro ended on Monday, July 7. However, President Tinubu only returned to Nigeria in the early hours of Sunday, July 13 — five days later. According to the ADC, this unexplained delay raises serious concerns, especially as the country faces deep economic hardship and worsening insecurity.
In a statement signed by Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party’s interim National Publicity Secretary, the ADC said that while other world leaders returned home and addressed their citizens after the summit, Tinubu remained silent and out of public view.
“This was not a holiday trip. It was an official assignment. We demand a clear explanation for the five days the President was missing,” the statement said.
The party also accused the Tinubu-led administration of repeatedly showing “disdain for accountability” during the President’s foreign trips. It listed several past instances where Tinubu reportedly disappeared from public view after international events without briefing the public or officially informing the National Assembly.
These incidents include his trips to France, the Netherlands, China, and the UK between January and September 2024 all of which, according to the ADC, were marked by unexplained absences and silence from the presidency.
The party warned that such behaviour is unhealthy for Nigeria’s democracy and global image.
“A president that disappears without explanation cannot be trusted to fix the serious challenges Nigerians face,” the ADC said, urging citizens to remain alert and demand more accountability from their leaders.