Atiku, Presidency trade tackles over Tinubu’s vacation

Who, constitutionally, is in charge of Nigeria?, Ex-VP asks

Tinubu can govern Nigeria from anywhere, says Presidency

President, VP Shettima’s absence sets dangerous precedent— ADC

Emeka Agu Jnr with agency reports

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar and the Presidency on Monday traded words over President Bola Tinubu’s vacation in Europe.

Recall that President Tinubu left Nigeria on August 30 for what the Presidency described as a three-week working vacation in Europe.

The Presidency said on Monday that the President had extended his stay by a few days and would return to Nigeria at the weekend.

However, former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, on Monday, questioned who is constitutionally exercising presidential authority in Nigeria following the expiration of the three-week vacation announced for President Bola Tinubu.

In a statement titled “Who is in Charge of Nigeria?”, Atiku cited Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution, which provides for the President to transmit a written declaration to the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House when proceeding on vacation, allowing the Vice President to perform presidential functions as Acting President.

He said Nigerians had not been shown any such communication transferring presidential authority to Vice President Kashim Shettima.

“Twenty-one days have come and gone since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu left Nigeria on what the Presidency described as a three-week annual vacation,” Atiku said.

“Today, Nigerians are entitled to ask a very simple constitutional question: Who is in charge of Nigeria?”

According to Atiku, if the required declaration was not transmitted within 21 days, Section 145(2) provides for the National Assembly to mandate the Vice President to perform the functions of President as Acting President.

He therefore challenged the Presidency to publish the letter if it exists and asked the National Assembly to explain why the constitutional procedure had not been activated if no declaration was transmitted.

“If such a letter exists, the Presidency should publish it immediately,” he said.

The ADC candidate also raised concerns over the simultaneous absence of Tinubu and Shettima, with the Vice President in New York representing Nigeria at the 81st United Nations General Assembly.

 “So again: who is exercising presidential authority in Nigeria today, and under what constitutional instrument?” Atiku asked.

He described the matter as one of “constitutional order” rather than political convenience, adding that Nigeria could not be governed through informal arrangements.

“Nigeria cannot be governed by assumptions. It cannot be governed by presidential social-media posts from Europe.

“It cannot be governed by photographs from private dinners at the Élysée Palace.

“It cannot be governed on autopilot,” he said.

Atiku also cited the deaths of 37 Nigerians in NSCDC custody in Minna and rising petrol prices, which he said had added to the economic difficulties facing Nigerians.

“These are not ordinary times. Yet the President is abroad. The Vice President is abroad. The Senate President is abroad,” he said.

He called on the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House to confirm whether they received any communication from Tinubu under Section 145(1).

Atiku added: “Nigeria is bigger than any President. At a time of severe economic hardship, rising energy costs, security challenges and the shocking deaths of citizens in government custody, the country deserves visible, accountable and constitutionally grounded leadership.”

“The question will not disappear: Who, constitutionally, is in charge of Nigeria?”

However, Defending the President’s absence from the country, the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, said the President can govern Nigeria from anywhere in the world, arguing that his constitutional powers are not limited by his physical location.

Bwala made the assertion in a post on X on Monday while reacting to questions from opposition figures over who is in charge of Nigeria as Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima are currently outside the country.

“It is funny how opposition candidates are asking the question who is in charge of Nigeria simply because the President and Vice President are out of the country,” Bwala wrote.

He argued that the President’s powers to govern Nigeria could be exercised even while he is outside the country.

“For avoidance of doubt, the power of the President to govern Nigeria is not limited to geography.

“As commander in chief of the armed forces, he can order, direct, delegate and/or administer the constitution of Nigeria anywhere in the world,” he said.

Meanwhile, the National Publicity Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Bolaji Abdullahi, has described the simultaneous absence of President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima from Nigeria as a “very dangerous precedent.”

Abdullahi spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, amid Tinubu’s continued stay in France and Shettima’s trip to New York to represent the President at the 81st United Nations General Assembly.

Tinubu left Nigeria on August 30 for a working vacation and the Presidency announced on Monday that he had extended his stay by a few days, with plans to return at the weekend. Shettima departed Abuja on September 20 for the UN General Assembly.

The Presidency has said Tinubu remains in contact with officials in Nigeria and continues to direct government affairs despite his absence.

It also said that with Shettima representing the President at the UNGA, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, would continue representing the President at some official engagements.

But Abdullahi questioned the constitutional basis for Akume’s role in the absence of both the President and Vice President.

“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?” he asked.

The ADC spokesman argued that the situation raised questions about who was exercising presidential authority while both constitutional office holders were outside the country.

“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?” he asked.

Abdullahi said the arrangement was capable of setting a precedent with implications beyond the current administration.

“They insult the sensibility of Nigerians, they insult the Constitution,” he said. “What they are doing is dangerous and they should realise that this will end one day. They are setting a very dangerous precedent, nobody is in charge of Nigeria now.”

He also rejected the description of Tinubu’s absence as a “working vacation”, arguing that the Constitution did not provide for a president to effectively relocate outside the country while governance continued through informal arrangements.

The ADC spokesman consequently called for the National Assembly to reconvene from its recess and address what he described as the constitutional questions arising from the President’s absence.

He, however, alleged that the lawmakers would not reconvene because they were too closely aligned with the Tinubu administration.