'Forgive him, he is gunning for appointment' - Nigerians react to Reuben Abati's defence of Tinubu

Arise Television anchor, Reuben Abati has received knocks from Nigerians after he defended President Bola Tinubu's decision not to speak at the Paris Summit.

Recall that the Presidency announced that President Tinubu embarked on a two day trip to Paris to attend the Global Finance Summit and participate in a debate about Africa's economic prospects on June 22, 23.

However, it was discovered that President Bola Tinubu was represented by the Nigerian ambassador to France in a live economic session.

This didn't go down well with many Nigerians who wondered why he failed to participate in the debate.

Reuben Abati during the morning show on Monday, took to the defence of President Bola Tinubu, saying that it was wrong to compare other heads of state to Tinubu having that this is his first major international outing.

He said;

"Every country makes its own sovereign choices, designs its own programmes. President Tinubu handlers for one reason or the other may have designed their program in that particular order. I think that we will be overstating the matter by comparing statements made by Hichilema who was able to get a deal with China...So, asking that it is compulsory for President Tinubu to take the podium, you don't know the consideration may have been. But in terms of the trip being a success, I think it was successful, it was a good outing and during the panels, Nigeria was represented there by the Nigerian Ambassador to France and it wasn't as if we were voiceless there. But what people want to see is President Tinubu also being quoted. Don't forget that this is his first major international outing as President so we don't know how they plan the programme. I think it was also good that he took time out to engage with Nigerians in the diaspora."

Some Nigerians took to the comment section of the live broadcast on YouTube to call out Reuben Abati over his submission.

While some applauded him for been objective, others slammed him and accused him of seeking appointments from President Tinubu hence his justification.

Below are the comments;