*ADC, Makinde, Sowore Criticise President For Not Transmitting Power To VP
*Akpabio: No Vacancy In Aso Rock, I Am Not Acting President
AS Nigerians question who is actually piloting the affairs of the country at home, with the simultaneous absence of President Bola Tinubu and Vice President, Kashim Shettima, the Presidency has insisted that there was no cause for alarm, as Tinubu remained engaged with the affairs of government while abroad and had extended his working vacation by a few days.
His Special Adviser on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, said the President’s ability to exercise his constitutional responsibilities does not depend on his location.
“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,” he wrote in a post on X, adding that Tinubu, as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, could direct and administer Nigeria’s affairs from anywhere.
Earlier, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, had faulted former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, and a United States-based lobbying organisation over what he described as speculation surrounding Tinubu’s absence from the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
Idris, on Monday, September 21, said while political opposition and robust public debate were legitimate, speculation should not be presented to Nigerians or the international community as fact.
Atiku had questioned Tinubu’s decision not to attend the UNGA for the third consecutive year.
But Idris, speaking just as Shettima arrived in New York to represent Tinubu and lead Nigeria’s delegation to the high-level session, said the Federal Government had taken note of Atiku’s comments and those of the US-based lobbying organisation retained by him.
He urged political actors to exercise responsibility when discussing issues concerning Nigeria’s international relations and national reputation, noting: “Political opposition and robust public debate are legitimate features of democracy. However, speculation should not be presented to Nigerians or the international community as established fact.
“The government urges political actors to exercise responsibility when discussing matters affecting Nigeria’s international relationships and national reputation.”
The minister stressed that Nigeria’s relationship with the US covered trade and investment, security cooperation, energy, democratic institutions, regional stability, and people-to-people ties, and the relationship was conducted through established diplomatic and governmental channels and should not be confused with “partisan commentary or the activities of private lobbying organisations acting on behalf of political clients.
“The Federal Government, therefore, encourages Nigerians and the media to distinguish between verified information, legitimate political opinion and unsubstantiated speculation.”
Idris stated insisted that Nigeria was fully represented at the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, saying Tinubu’s decision to mandate Shettima to represent him was neither unusual nor a diminution of Nigeria’s diplomatic standing, noting that the President is currently on annual leave.
The clarifications have not exactly stopped the questions, as Tinubu extended his vacation abroad by “a few days” and was due to return to Nigeria at the weekend.
Recall that the President departed Nigeria on August 30 for London to begin the working vacation. After spending a week in London, he moved to Paris, France, where he met with French President, Emmanuel Macron, and businessman, Vincent Bollore, whose media group includes Canal+, MultiChoice, and Universal Music Group.
The Presidency said Tinubu has continued to keep in touch with home, directing the affairs of the nation, including ordering an independent panel to investigate the death of 37 illegal miners detained by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Minna, Niger State.
Oyo State Governor and presidential candidate of the Allied People’s Movement (APM), Seyi Makinde, criticised Tinubu for spending over 21 days abroad on working leave without officially handing over to Shettima.
Similarly, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) described the continued absence of the President without handing over to his vice as dangerous and a disregard for the Constitution.
ADC, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, cited Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which requires the President to transmit a written declaration to the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives, when proceeding on vacation for a period of up to 21 days, after which the Vice President performs the functions of the President in acting capacity.
On his part, presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in next year’s general elections and rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, urged the National Assembly to invoke Section 145(2) of the Constitution and mandate Shettima to perform the functions of the President as Acting President.
Makinde said: “Anytime I have to travel out, not for work, but on vacation, for more than 21 days, I transmit power to the Deputy Governor. Why is this not happening at the national level?
“If the President is unable, whether through sickness, a medical trip or incapacitation, to function, we are all human; anything can happen to anybody at any time.
“If that happens, the President should also transmit power to the Vice President.”
For ADC: “Tinubu left Nigeria on August 30 and has now been away for more than 21 days. We, therefore, demand to know whether the required declaration was transmitted by the President.
“If he did not, we would like to know why the National Assembly has ignored Section 145 of the Constitution”
The party dismissed the explanation that the President was on a “working vacation” or that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, would represent the President at official events, saying it was “an absurdity that raises more questions than it answers.”
The party described as a “national disgrace,” the fact that Macron is in New York attending the UNGA, while Tinubu is in Paris, adding: “The irony would be amusing if it were not a national disgrace.
“At a time when world leaders are advancing their countries’ interests at the UNGA, Nigeria’s President is holed up in the French capital while his host has left to pursue his own country’s national interest.”
ADC requested direct answers from the Presidency and the National Assembly.
Sowore, in a statement, said there have been no public confirmation that a declaration under Section 145(1) transferring presidential functions to Shettima had been transmitted, urging Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, to clarify whether they had received the declaration as required under the Constitution.
Sowore also rejected the Presidency’s description of Tinubu’s stay abroad as a “working vacation,” insisting the Constitution did not provide such an exception, and that the claim that the President continued to direct the affairs of government from abroad did not resolve the constitutional question surrounding his absence beyond 21 days.
Meanwhile, Akpabio has clarified that there was no vacancy in Aso Rock, insisting that Tinubu remained in charge of the country’s affairs, despite being on vacation abroad.
Speaking in Akwa Ibom State, on Tuesday, September 22, while inaugurating road projects executed by Governor Umo Eno, the senate president said Tinubu’s absence from the country should not be interpreted as a transfer of power or presidential vacancy.
“I am not the acting president, because the President is still in power. The President is on a working leave. So, there’s no absence in Aso Rock.”
He stressed that Tinubu continued to perform his responsibilities even while outside the country, saying he could issue directives and conduct government business remotely, adding: “What he cannot do here, he is doing abroad. The world has become a global village; you can give instructions from the internet about anything, so why are people complaining?”
Akpabio made reference to Tinubu’s recent engagements abroad, including his meeting with Macron, noting: “The other day, he was with President Macron on a state visit, discussing bilateral to bring things back to Nigeria.”
On the President’s absence from UNGA, he said Shettima represented Nigeria at the gathering, noting: “And then, because he could not make it to UNGA, his vice-president went.
“The people who are complaining are like people who are drinking water and say give me toothpick, the water is all for my teeth. They don’t know what to say.”
Akpabio said as Chairman of the National Assembly, he was the appropriate authority to comment on whether there was a vacancy in the presidency, insisting: “There’s no vacancy; people who are talking are just talking.
“I’m the only person, as Chairman of National Assembly, that can speak the voice of National Assembly and say there is vacancy and there will be vacancy.
“Right now, there is no vacancy. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is still in power and is still running the affairs of Nigeria.”
