Nigeria: Tell Nigerians Your Real Destination, APM Challenges Tinubu

What the report says

The Allied People's Movement has criticized President Bola Tinubu over his reported trip, urging him to tell Nigerians his real destination and to remain in the country to address hardship. The comments were reported by Vanguard and distributed by AllAfrica, with the party saying the president should focus on domestic problems rather than what it described as a religious pilgrimage abroad.

In a statement, APM National Publicity Secretary Abubakar Yusuf questioned whether the planned lesser Hajj was being used as a cover for other activities. He argued that prayer alone would not answer the economic and social pressures affecting Nigerians and said the administration should concentrate on solving those problems at home. The party also used the remark to accuse Tinubu's government of worsening hardship.

The statement went beyond the immediate travel issue and turned to politics ahead of the 2027 election. Yusuf suggested Tinubu could face difficulty meeting the constitutional spread required for victory and said the APM expects its own candidate, Seyi Makinde, to be competitive. The remarks reflect the opposition's effort to frame the trip as both a governance and political issue. In general, such criticism is common in Nigeria's polarized political environment, especially when public travel by top officials overlaps with economic strain and election positioning.