Hours after former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi criticised President Bola Tinubu over his recent international visits, the Presidency shared a brief travelogue about Tinubu’s visit to Saint Lucia.

Tinubu departed Abuja on Saturday for a two-nation tour, starting with a state visit to Saint Lucia, followed by participation at the 17th BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, scheduled for July 6-7.

The announcement was made in a statement signed by Bayo Onanuga, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy.

Reacting, Obi called the trip a “leisure trip” and said, “No, Mr President, this is not the time for holidaying.”

Obi, who said he was struggling to understand what was happening to governance in the country, questioned the timing of the President’s trip, especially when many Nigerians were facing urgent problems.

He stated, “This is a President going for leisure when he couldn’t visit Minna, Niger State where over two hundred lives were lost and over 700 persons still missing in a flood natural disaster. I wonder which type of incident will happen before a President is attracted to show physical sympathy to the distressed citizens.

“The other state in crisis where over two hundred lives were murdered, the President yielded to public pressure and visited Makurdi the state capital for what turned out to be a political jamboree than condolence as public holiday was declared and children made to line up to receive the President who couldn’t even reach the village, the scene of the brutal attack.”

Shortly after Obi’s post, Tinubu’s spokesperson, Fredrick Nwabufo, released a brief travelogue in which he defended President Tinubu’s visit as an official trip to build stronger ties between Nigeria and Caribbean countries.

He said the people in Saint Lucia are very excited about the visit, noting that “The visit is on the lips of many citizens, from Hewanorra Airport to the city, it is, “the Nigerian President is visiting us.”

Nwabufo added that “apparently, the President’s visit has been in the news for weeks on the island across different media channels: TV, radio, print, and even in schools.”

“I undertook a tour of a part of the island to feel the pulse of the people. There is real excitement as regards the President’s visit.” Nwabufo said.

He also noted a conversation he had with a local from the Laffyie community around Rodney Bay, who reportedly told him that “Nigeria-Caribbean cooperation is long overdue,” and “It is good to have our big brother home.”

“Another citizen told me the visit is the most significant by any African leader,” Nwabufo claimed.