Tinubu Departs Lagos for Europe, Abu Dhabi, ADC Criticise Trip Amidst US Strike

Abbas: Zamfara bomb explosion cowardly

Deji Elumoye and Chuks Okocha in Abuja  

President Bola Tinubu has departed the nation’s commercial capital, Lagos, yesterday, for Europe, continuing his end-of-year break and ahead of his official trip to Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates.

Presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, in a release disclosed that President of the United Arab Emirates, His Highness, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, had invited Tinubu to participate in the 2026 edition of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW 2026) Summit, that will take place in the emirate early in January.

The weeklong summit is an annual event that mobilises leaders from government, business, and society to chart the next era of sustainable development.

With the theme “The Nexus of Next: All Systems Go”, ADSW will connect ambition with action across innovation, finance, and people, showcasing how the world can move forward with confidence.’

The President will return to the country after the Summit.

Meanwhile, the president’s Europe trip has received criticism for embarking on a journey amidst deadly bomb blast in Zamfara State and other parts of the country following the US strike.

Criticising the President, National Publicity Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said Tinubu’s lack of care was scary.

Reacting through his X handle on Sunday in Abuja, the ADC spokesman said, “PBAT’s lack of care is scary.

“In the wake of yet another deadly bomb blast in Zamfara, to which the President has not said a single word; on the back of an unprecedented foreign military attack on Nigerian soil; right in the middle of all the uncertainty it has provoked; with a confused and scared nation waiting for the President to speak to us and assure us that all is well, the next thing we hear is that the President has gone on holiday.

“What a President!”

Abbas: Zamfara Bomb Explosion Cowardly

Reacting to the bomb blast, House of Representatives Speaker, Hon. Abbas Tajudeen,  condemned the bomb explosion on road users in Zamfara State, leading to the death of seven persons.

Suspected terrorists had planted an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) along the Magami–Dansadau highway in the Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State on Saturday, killing passengers of a bus.

The Speaker, in a statement, by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Musa Krishi described the attack as cowardly.

He noted that it was unfortunate that it was carried out shortly after the Nigerian and the American governments launched a joint operation against terrorism in the country, with strikes on terrorists hideouts in parts of the North-West on Thursday.

While vowing that terrorism, banditry, and other crimes against the state would be resisted, Abbas noted that new strategic security measures were introduced by the administration of President Bola Tinubu, GCFR, to check criminal activities.

He stressed that Nigerians, more than ever before, have remained undaunted and more supportive of the government to tackle threats to life and property.

The speaker restated the commitment of the House, and by extension the National Assembly, to providing legislative and budgetary backing towards achieving a safe and secure Nigeria.