Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), said 21 days have passed since President Bola Tinubu left the country, expressing concern that no one is in charge of Nigeria and that the country cannot be governed on autopilot.
Atiku, in a statement on Monday, maintained that no letter had been seen transmitting presidential authority to Vice President Kashim Shettima, insisting that Nigeria cannot be governed by presidential social media posts from Europe.
According to Atiku, if no declaration was transmitted within the constitutionally stipulated period, the National Assembly must explain why the procedure provided by Section 145(2) hasn’t been activated.
The ADC presidential candidate said, “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.
“Today, Nigerians are entitled to ask a very simple constitutional question: Who is in charge of Nigeria? Section 145 of the Constitution isn’t ambiguous about presidential vacations. It provides that whenever the President proceeds on vacation, he shall transmit a written declaration to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, whereupon the Vice President performs the functions of the President as Acting President.”
Atiku added that where the President fails to transmit that declaration within 21 days, the Constitution provides a further safeguard: the National Assembly shall, by a simple majority of each House, mandate the Vice President to perform the functions of the President as Acting President.
“President Tinubu left Nigeria on 30 August. The Presidency publicly announced a three-week vacation. Yet, to date, Nigerians haven’t been shown any constitutional letter transmitting presidential authority to Vice President Kashim Shettima.”
He challenged the presidency to publish such a letter if it exists, “The 21 days have now elapsed. If such a letter exists, the Presidency should publish it immediately.
‘If it doesn’t, then the constitutional mechanism contemplated by Section 145(2) has been triggered, and the National Assembly owes Nigerians an explanation as to why it hasn’t acted.
“This isn’t a matter of political convenience. It’s a matter of constitutional order. The situation is made even more disturbing by the fact that Vice President Shettima is himself presently in New York representing Nigeria at the United Nations General Assembly — the third consecutive UN General Assembly at which President Tinubu has delegated Nigeria’s representation to his deputy.”
Atiku wondered who is in charge of Nigeria, saying, “So again: who is exercising presidential authority in Nigeria today, and under what constitutional instrument?
“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 recalled that while President Tinubu was abroad, 37 Nigerians died in the NSCDC custody in Minna, an incident grave enough to trigger investigations, suspensions, and demands for independent scrutiny.
“At the same time, petrol is selling for as much as ₦1,500 per liter in parts of the country, worsening transportation costs and squeezing families already struggling with the cost of food, electricity, rent, and other necessities.
“These aren’t ordinary times. Yet the President is abroad. The Vice President is abroad. The Senate President is abroad.
And Nigerians haven’t been told, in the clear constitutional language required of a serious democracy, who is exercising the President’s powers.
“President Tinubu’s private dinner with President Emmanuel Macron in Paris may serve diplomatic purposes. But Nigeria itself cannot be placed on vacation.
“The Constitution doesn’t recognize a ‘working vacation’ as an alternative system of presidential succession. It provides a procedure. That procedure must be obeyed.”
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