The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has welcomed President Bola Tinubu back to Nigeria but questioned his unexplained five-day absence following the conclusion of the 2025 BRICS Summit in Brazil.
In a statement issuedon Sunday, July 13, by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bola Abdullahi, the ADC said Tinubu’s delayed return, without any official communication, raises serious concerns about transparency and leadership.
“The African Democratic Congress extends a weary welcome to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for finally returning to the country five days after the end of the 2025 BRICS Summit, which was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,” the statement read.
Tinubu had departed Abuja on June 28 for a diplomatic tour that began in Saint Lucia, where he attended the country’s 45th Independence Anniversary and engaged in South-South diplomatic talks.
He later travelled to Brazil on July 4 for the BRICS Summit, which concluded on July 7. However, the President did not return to Abuja until the early hours of Sunday, July 13.
The ADC criticised the lack of any briefing or public explanation for the delay.
“Since the summit ended on Monday, July 7th, all the other world leaders who were in attendance returned home, briefed their citizens, and got back to work.
“But our President? He only reappeared in Abuja in the early hours of Sunday, July 13—without a word, without a briefing, or any explanation as to why his return to the country had been delayed,” the party said.
The ADC stressed that such silence is unacceptable, especially given the country’s economic and security crises.
“A whole five days is significant in the life of a country, especially a country like ours battling with several existential challenges of insecurity and a tottering economy that has made life increasingly difficult for the majority of Nigerians.
READ ALSO: Tinubu Returns to Abuja After 15-Day Visits to Saint Lucia, Brazil
“The President was not on holiday; he was on official duty. We therefore cannot wish those five days away and we demand a clear explanation for them,” the statement added.
The party accused Tinubu’s administration of normalising opacity in governance.
“The ADC also notes with concern that this disdain for accountability around the President’s overseas trip has become a distinct hallmark of this administration.”
Citing similar incidents, the ADC listed several instances where the President reportedly left the country and returned without explanation.
“In January 2024, a so-called ‘private visit’ to France turned into a two-week disappearance. No photos, and no statements from our President.
“In April 2024, President Tinubu travelled to the Netherlands, and then to Riyadh, for the World Economic Forum. The summit ended on April 29th, 2024, but there was not a word from him until May 8th, 2024. Those were nine days of unexplained vacuum.
“In August 2024, President Tinubu flew to China via Dubai. After his engagements in Beijing, he vanished from public view on September 5th and mysteriously surfaced in London on September 11th. He was missing for six days—no explanations, no letter transmitted to the National Assembly, just silence.
“And in the same August 2024, the President also embarked on yet another ‘brief work stay’ in Paris. He remained incommunicado for three days, then quietly returned, as if the nation did not deserve to know.
“Each episode of Mr. President’s mysterious disappearances has sparked all manner of speculations and rumours that are not only unhealthy to the polity, but also endanger Nigeria’s perception in the eyes of the world,” the statement warned.
The ADC maintained that accountability is non-negotiable in a democracy, adding that the Presidency owes Nigerians clear and timely communication, especially when the President is on official duty.