A recent report by Inside Sources has revealed that President Bola Tinubu has embarked on 37 foreign trips since assuming office, significantly outpacing the 23 meetings held by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) within the same period. The findings have sparked debates over the balance between domestic governance and international diplomacy.
The report shows that in the first 17 months of their administration, President Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima have collectively spent 180 days abroad.
According to Stephen Angbulu, State House Correspondent at The PUNCH., speaking on Inside Sources with Laolu Akande on Channels Television on Sunday, Angbulu highlighted the significant amount of time the nation’s top executives have spent on foreign engagements, raising questions about governance at home.
“Although the constitution doesn’t necessarily talk about the frequency of the meetings of the Federal Executive Council, it does recognize the Council and its functions. But, it does not state how often the Council should meet,” Angbulu noted.
He referenced an operational manual released in 2014 under former President Goodluck Jonathan, which prescribed weekly meetings for the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to ensure the efficient processing of government projects and memoranda.
“The Cabinet Affairs Office released an operational manual in 2014 under former President Goodluck Jonathan talking about how frequently the Council should meet, and it states clearly that the Council should meet weekly. And this is to allow for speedy processing of memoranda, projects, and programmes of government so you don’t keep so much backlog waiting. One of the reasons behind that is for us to have an efficient government.”
Under former President Muhammadu Buhari, FEC meetings followed a consistent schedule.
“Under the Buhari administration, he took on that custom. We had FEC meetings on Wednesdays at 10 a.m. That was the tradition,” Angbulu stated.
However, under the current administration, a shift in meeting schedules has been observed. “Into the new administration, however, we saw a different pattern. On the 21st of August 2023, the President inaugurated 45 ministers, and that’s on a Monday. A week later, on the 28th of August 2023, we saw the inaugural meeting of the Council. From that period on, Council meetings became on Mondays.”
On the extensive foreign travels of the President and Vice President, Angbulu emphasized the ambassadorial nature of the presidency.
“One of the things I realised covering presidents first is that the presidency is also a heavily ambassadorial role. That’s one of the things I noticed. And that means that, for a better part of their time, presidents would mostly be lending the weight of their office to matters of interest to the nation abroad. There are certain kinds of agreements that will not go through if there’s nobody at the Head of State level to represent the interest of the country.”
Angbulu also noted the importance of assessing the outcomes of such trips.
“The usefulness of a trip is determined by two factors: the goal of that trip and what is the follow-through from the government to ensure that they achieve the goals of the trip even after the President returns. 37 trips so far, yes. Within the first 17 months in the administration, both the President and his Vice spent 180 days abroad.”
