Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has asked the Presidency and National Assembly to clarify who is constitutionally exercising presidential powers following the expiration of the three-week vacation initially announced for President Bola Tinubu.
Atiku, in a statement on Monday, cited Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution and demanded that the Presidency disclose whether Tinubu transmitted the required written declaration to the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives before leaving Nigeria on August 30.
The Presidency had announced on August 30 that Tinubu was embarking on a three-week vacation as part of his annual leave, with London as his first destination.
However, on Monday, the State House announced that Tinubu had extended his working vacation by a few days and would return to Nigeria at the weekend. It said the President had remained in contact with officials at home and continued directing the affairs of government while abroad.
But Atiku argued that Nigerians had not been shown any constitutional communication transferring presidential functions to Vice President Kashim Shettima.
According to him, Section 145(1) provides that whenever the President proceeds on vacation or is otherwise unable to perform the functions of his office, he is to transmit a written declaration to the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives, after which the Vice President performs the functions of President as Acting President.
He also cited Section 145(2), which provides for action by the National Assembly where the President fails to transmit such a declaration within 21 days.
“Who is exercising presidential authority in Nigeria today, and under what constitutional instrument?” Atiku asked.
The former Vice President called on the Presidency to immediately publish the letter if such a declaration was transmitted before Tinubu left the country.
“If such a letter exists, the Presidency should publish it immediately,” he said.
Atiku argued that if no declaration was transmitted within the stipulated period, the National Assembly should explain why the procedure provided under Section 145(2) had not been activated.
“This is not a matter of political convenience. It is a matter of constitutional order,” he said.
The issue has also arisen amid Vice President Shettima’s absence from Nigeria. Shettima departed Abuja on September 20 to represent Tinubu at the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York. The State House said that while Shettima was away, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, would continue representing the President at some official engagements.
Atiku questioned how presidential authority was being exercised with both Tinubu and Shettima outside the country.
“So again: who is exercising presidential authority in Nigeria today, and under what constitutional instrument?” he asked.
He also criticised what he described as reliance on social media updates and photographs of the President abroad as evidence of the continued exercise of presidential functions.
“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 linked his concerns to recent developments in the country, including the deaths of 37 Nigerians in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Minna, Niger State, as well as rising petrol prices and the broader cost-of-living crisis.
He argued that the circumstances made clarity over the exercise of executive authority particularly important.
“These are not ordinary times. Yet the President is abroad. The Vice President is abroad. And Nigerians have not been told, in the clear constitutional language required of a serious democracy, who is exercising the powers of the President,” Atiku said.
He further called on the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives to disclose whether they received any communication from Tinubu concerning his absence and the temporary exercise of presidential functions.
“The Presidency should therefore tell Nigerians immediately whether President Tinubu transmitted the declaration contemplated by Section 145(1) before leaving the country,” he said.
“The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House should equally tell Nigerians whether such a communication was received.”
Atiku also asked the National Assembly to explain why it had not activated the procedure under Section 145(2), should no declaration have been transmitted within the constitutionally stipulated period.
He maintained that Nigeria’s constitutional order should not depend on informal arrangements or assumptions about the President’s ability to continue performing his duties while abroad.
“President Tinubu’s private dinner with President Emmanuel Macron in Paris may serve diplomatic purposes. But Nigeria itself cannot be placed on vacation,” Atiku said.
“The Constitution does not recognise a ‘working vacation’ as an alternative system of presidential succession. It provides a procedure. That procedure must be obeyed.”
The former Vice President concluded by saying the issue was about constitutional accountability rather than the personal movements of the President.
“Nigeria is bigger than any President,” he said.
“The question will not disappear: Who, constitutionally, is in charge of Nigeria?”
Tags: Atiku Abubakar, Bola Tinubu, Kashim Shettima, Presidency, Section 145, Nigerian Constitution, ADC, National Assembly, Presidential Vacation, Executive Power, 2027 Politics, Nigeria Politics, Abuja
Meta Description: Atiku Abubakar questions who is constitutionally exercising presidential powers after Tinubu’s three-week vacation elapsed, citing Section 145 of the Constitution.
