Nigeria, Nov. 3 -- Phrank Shaibu, a senior special assistant on public communication to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, has accused President Bola Tinubu of using his recent Umrah trip to Makkah, Saudi Arabia, for personal spiritual benefits rather than praying for Nigeria.

Shaibu made the allegation during an interview on Channels Television's Politics Today on Monday, describing the president's pilgrimage as a "political Umrah".

He argued that although the presidency presented the trip as an opportunity for Tinubu to pray for Nigeria, the president had actually embarked on the spiritual exercise for personal reasons.

"It is for himself. He has gone there to pray for himself. In trying to mask this trip, they claimed it was for...