*Asks, “who is in-charge?”
Former Vice-President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has questioned the constitutional status of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s continued absence from Nigeria, asking who is currently exercising presidential authority following the expiration of the 21-day period announced for the President’s vacation.
Tinubu left Nigeria on August 30 for what the Presidency described as a three-week vacation as part of his annual leave. The State House said at the time that the President’s first stop would be London and that he was expected to return after the working vacation.
In a statement issued on Monday, Atiku invoked Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution, arguing that Nigerians were entitled to know whether the President had formally transmitted authority to Vice President Kashim Shettima before leaving the country.
“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?”
Section 145(1) provides that when the President proceeds on vacation or is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, he is to transmit a written declaration to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Until a declaration to the contrary is transmitted, the Vice President performs the functions of President as Acting President.
The same section provides that where the President is unable or fails to transmit the required declaration within 21 days, the National Assembly shall, by a simple majority resolution of each chamber, mandate the Vice President to perform the functions of President as Acting President until the President communicates his resumption of duties.
Atiku said that although the Presidency announced Tinubu’s departure on August 30, Nigerians had not been shown any constitutional communication transmitting presidential authority to Shettima.
“If such a letter exists, the Presidency should publish it immediately,” he said.
“If it does not, then the constitutional mechanism contemplated by Section 145(2) has been triggered, and the National Assembly owes Nigerians an explanation as to why it has not acted.”
He stressed that the matter was not one of political convenience but “a matter of constitutional order.”
The former Vice President also raised concerns over Shettima’s own absence from the country, saying the Vice President was in New York representing Nigeria at the United Nations General Assembly.
He therefore asked who was exercising presidential authority in Nigeria and under what constitutional instrument.
According to Atiku, the situation was particularly concerning given the deaths of Nigerians in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Minna, Niger State, and the economic difficulties facing citizens.
The Presidency has confirmed the Minna deaths and said President Tinubu ordered a full and transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the deaths of suspected illegal miners detained by the NSCDC. The President said any official found culpable through action, abuse or negligence should face prosecution where the evidence warrants it.
Atiku also criticised the reported price of petrol in parts of the country and cited rising transportation and living costs as additional reasons for what he described as the need for visible and accountable leadership.
He said Nigeria could not be governed “on autopilot” and argued that presidential activities abroad, including Tinubu’s private dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, did not remove the need for clarity over the constitutional chain of authority.
“The Constitution does not recognise a ‘working vacation’ as an alternative system of presidential succession. It provides a procedure. That procedure must be obeyed,” Atiku said.
He consequently called on the Presidency to clarify whether Tinubu transmitted the declaration contemplated by Section 145(1) before leaving Nigeria.
He also urged the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to state whether such a communication was received.
“And if no declaration was transmitted within the constitutionally stipulated period, the National Assembly must explain why the procedure provided by Section 145(2) has not been activated,” he said.
Atiku concluded that Nigeria deserved “visible, accountable and constitutionally grounded leadership,” particularly amid economic hardship, energy costs, security challenges and concerns over deaths in government custody.
“The question will not disappear: Who, constitutionally, is in charge of Nigeria?” he asked.
