Senate President Godswill Akpabio has broken his silence on the the absence of President Bola Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima in the country.
Tinubu is currently on vacation in Europe while Shettima is attending the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
Bolaji Abdullahi, spokesman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), described the absence of Tinubu and Shettima as a “dangerous disregard for the Constitution”.
He had called on the Presidency and the National Assembly to provide a direct answer to one question: “Who presently exercises the constitutional powers of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and under what provision of the Constitution?”
On his part, Omoyele Sowore, Presidential Candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), asked the National Assembly to immediately commence the constitutional process prescribed by Section 145(2) of the 1999 Constitution to mandate Shettima to perform the functions of President as Acting President.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu left Nigeria on August 30, 2026, for a three-week vacation. That 21-day period has expired. Instead of returning as announced, the Presidency stated on September 21 that Tinubu had extended his vacation abroad by “a few days.”
“Section 145 is unambiguous. Whenever the President proceeds on vacation, he shall transmit a written declaration to the Senate President and Speaker of the House, enabling the Vice-President to perform presidential functions as Acting President. Where the President fails or is unable to transmit that declaration within 21 days, Section 145(2) says the National Assembly shall, by simple majority in each House, mandate the Vice-President to perform those functions,” he said in a statement.
“This is no longer about Tinubu’s vacation. It is about whether Nigeria will be governed according to its Constitution. The 21 days have expired. The National Assembly must act now.”
But speaking at an event in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, on Tuesday, Akpabio declared that there is no vacancy in the Presidency.
He said President Tinubu remains in charge of Nigeria despite his absence.
“I want to correct an impression. I am the Senate President and Chairman of the National Assembly. By your grace, the grace of God, and the support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, I am not the acting president. Because the President is still in power.
“The President is on a working leave. So, there is no absence in Aso Rock. What he cannot do here, he is doing abroad. The other day, he was with President Macron on a state visit, discussing bilaterals to bring thing back to Nigeria. And then, because he could not make it to the UNGA—United Nations General Assembly—his Vice President went.
“There is no vacancy. People who are talking are just talking. I am the only person, as Chairman of the National Assembly, that can speak the voice of the National Assembly and say there is a vacancy and there will be a vacancy.
“Right now, there is no vacancy. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is still in power, and he is still running the affairs of Nigeria. Nigeria has become; the world has become a global village; you can give instructions even from the internet, anything. So why are people complaining?”
