The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has questioned who is constitutionally in charge of Nigeria as President Bola Tinubu extends his working vacation abroad, while Vice President Kashim Shettima is also outside the country.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, raised the question on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, amid renewed debate over the constitutional procedure for handling a president’s absence from the country.
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Mr Tinubu has been outside Nigeria since 30 August, when he travelled to London for a three-week working vacation before moving to Paris, France. The Presidency announced on Monday that he had extended the trip by a few days and would return to Nigeria at the weekend.
Mr Shettima left Abuja on Sunday for New York to represent the Nigerian leader at the 81st United Nations General Assembly, leaving both the president and his deputy outside Nigeria.
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Mr Abdullahi questioned the constitutional basis for the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, to continue representing the president at official functions in the absence of both Messrs Tinubu and Shettima.
“Who is in charge of Nigeria? That’s the question I think we all have to answer,” he said.
“Is SGF Akume now the Acting President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria? Is that what they are telling us? Is it the chain of succession that is spelt out by the Nigerian Constitution?”
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He argued that the SGF, who is a presidential appointee, cannot assume the constitutional powers of the president or Commander-in-Chief simply because both the president and vice president are abroad.
“Is the SGF, an appointee of the president, the one who should be in charge of the country when the president and vice president are not around?” Mr Abdullahi asked.
What the Constitution says
The controversy centres on Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution, which provides for the transfer of presidential functions during the president’s temporary absence.
Under the provision, whenever the president proceeds on vacation or is otherwise unable to discharge his functions, he is required to transmit a written declaration to the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
The vice president then performs the functions of the president as Acting President until the president transmits a further declaration that he is available to resume his duties.
The Constitution further provides that if the president fails to transmit the declaration within 21 days, the National Assembly may, by a simple majority in each chamber, mandate the vice president to perform the functions of the president as Acting President.
The provision was introduced through the First Alteration to the Constitution in 2010, following the controversy surrounding former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s prolonged absence from office.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who is the ADC’s presidential candidate for the 2027 election, had also questioned whether President Tinubu transmitted the required declaration before leaving the country.
In a statement on Monday, Atiku asked the Presidency to clarify whether such a letter was sent to the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. He also asked the National Assembly to explain why the procedure under Section 145 had not been activated if no declaration was transmitted within 21 days.
Presidency says Tinubu remains in charge
The Presidency has rejected the suggestion that Tinubu’s absence has created a leadership vacuum.
In announcing the extension of the president’s vacation, his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said Mr Tinubu had remained in touch with developments in Nigeria and continued to direct the affairs of government from abroad.
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The Presidency also said Tinubu had delegated Mr Shettima to represent him at some official functions, including the UN General Assembly.
With Mr Shettima now in New York, the Presidency said Akume would continue to represent the president at official events in Nigeria.
The federal government separately said Mr Shettima was carrying the president’s full mandate at the UN General Assembly and that Nigeria would be adequately represented at the gathering.
NASS should reconvene
But Mr Abdullahi disputed the government’s position, arguing that describing Mr Tinubu’s absence as a “working vacation” does not resolve the constitutional question.
He said the National Assembly should reconvene to address the situation, although he alleged that lawmakers would not do so because of their closeness to the Tinubu administration.
The ADC’s spokesperson also criticised the handling of security and electoral concerns ahead of the 2027 elections. He said the ADC had documented alleged attacks against opposition members in Rivers, Edo and Delta states and accused security agencies and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of failing to respond adequately to some of the concerns.
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