Eniola Yekini
The presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, AAC, Omoyele Sowore, has questioned President Bola Tinubu’s planned trip to Saudi Arabia for Umrah, asking whether the President or the country needs prayers more.
Sowore, in a statement posted on his X account, faulted the Presidency’s explanation that Tinubu would travel to Makkah to pray for Nigeria.
“The lies are not going to stop! Between Nigeria and Tinubu, who really needs prayers? Why lie that you are travelling to Saudi Arabia to ‘pray’ for Nigeria when you yourself are in desperate need of prayers? Even Saudi Arabia is in need of prayers,” he said.
He also compared Tinubu’s trip to the overseas travels of former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
“Like Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, who initially sought medical treatment in Germany before eventually travelling to Saudi Arabia, Tinubu has made repeated trips to France and is now heading to Saudi Arabia,” he said in an earlier statement.
The Presidency had announced on Wednesday that Tinubu would depart Abuja on Thursday for Makkah, Saudi Arabia, to perform Umrah, an Islamic pilgrimage involving religious rites in the holy city.
According to a statement by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, the trip would allow Tinubu to pray for Nigeria’s peace, unity, stability and progress.
Onanuga said before departing Abuja, the President was scheduled to commission equipment acquired by the Nigerian Air Force at the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, and would return to Nigeria next week.
Meanwhile, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has also questioned the trip, demanding daily, verifiable evidence of Tinubu’s presence in Makkah.
In a statement by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Presidential Campaign Council, Atiku alleged that the pilgrimage could be a cover for a trip to France and claimed intelligence available to him suggested Tinubu might make only a brief appearance in Makkah before travelling to France.
He called on the Presidency to release current, date-stamped photographs and videos showing Tinubu at the Kaaba and performing Umrah rites daily, and raised concerns about a reported $20 billion loan request involving a French business partner.
“Nigerians deserve verifiable proof of the President’s presence in Makkah and a transparent account of his daily activities in the Holy Land,” Atiku said.
He also questioned whether the trip was linked to the President’s health and demanded disclosure of the full itinerary and funding of the trip.
“No one should invoke the name of Almighty Allah in vain,” he said, adding that a spiritual mission undertaken on behalf of the country should be treated with seriousness and transparency.