Reno Omokri, a former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, has advised President Bola Tinubu to stop going on official foreign trips with his children.
The President has been going on official international trips with members of his family, especially his son, Seyi Tinubu.
Although Omokri pointed out that there was nothing legally wrong with the President going overseas with any member of his family, he noted that it should not be happening when the country is bitterly divided as a result of the outcome of the 2023 presidential election and the removal of fuel subsidy.
“If I were President of Nigeria at this time when the country is bitterly divided as a result of the #NigerianElections2023 and the removal of fuel subsidy, as well as the flotation of the Naira, I would not take my children on an official business trip overseas,” he opined in a post he shared on X on Wednesday.
“The only reason I would not do that is because the optics would look bad, and I would be playing into the hands of my political opponents and hostile media, which have taken a business decision to oppose my administration to appease their base in preparation for the next election.
“Having said that, legally, there is nothing wrong with it. Please fact-check me: As Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher took her son, Mark Thatcher, to overseas UK Business summits. Sir Mark Thatcher is a businessman, as is Seyi Tinubu. Also, fact-check me: President Obasanjo similarly took his son, Gbenga, on a business summit while he was President. Gbenga is also a legitimate businessman.
“The current U.S. President, Joe Biden, took his son, Hunter Biden, on a business summit in China while he was vice President. And President Trump even made his daughter and her husband his advisers, who frequently travelled with him to business and political summits…
“Other than the fact that Nigeria is currently very divided, and the President should have avoided fire, being that he is covered in petrol, what he did is not wrong at all.”