In a statement issued from Abuja, Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress and Nigeria’s Vice President from 1999 to 2007, is raising a constitutional question over President Bola Tinubu’s extended absence from the country. According to Atiku, it has been 21 days since Tinubu departed Nigeria on August 30 for what the Presidency called a three-week annual vacation, and he argues Nigerians deserve to know who is currently exercising presidential authority.
He points to Section 145 of the Constitution, which he says requires the President to formally notify the Senate President and Speaker of the House in writing before going on leave, after which the Vice President assumes duties as Acting President. If no such declaration is made within 21 days, Atiku notes, the Constitution allows the National Assembly to step in and empower the Vice President to act in that capacity by a simple majority vote in each chamber.
Atiku claims that no such written declaration has been made public, and with the 21-day window now passed, he is calling on the Presidency to either produce the document or acknowledge that the constitutional trigger under Section 145(2) has kicked in — in which case, he says, the National Assembly must explain its inaction.
He further argues the situation is complicated by the fact that Vice President Kashim Shettima is himself currently in New York attending the UN General Assembly — something Atiku notes is now the third straight year Tinubu has sent his deputy to represent Nigeria at the UN rather than attending himself.
He questions who is actually running the country in the interim, arguing that governance cannot rely on social media posts, diplomatic photo-ops, or informal arrangements.
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Atiku also links the President’s absence to recent troubling developments, citing the deaths of 37 Nigerians in NSCDC custody in Minna — which he says has prompted investigations and suspensions — alongside petrol prices reportedly reaching ₦1,500 per litre in some areas, adding pressure to already-strained households. He notes that, at the same time, the President, Vice President, and Senate President are all currently outside the country.
While acknowledging that Tinubu’s diplomatic engagements abroad, including a private dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron, may serve legitimate purposes, Atiku insists the country cannot effectively be “on vacation,” and that the Constitution provides a clear procedure that must be followed rather than treated as optional.
He is calling on the Presidency to clarify whether the required declaration was transmitted before Tinubu’s departure, and on the Senate President and Speaker to confirm whether they received it. If not, he argues, the National Assembly owes the public an explanation for not invoking Section 145(2).
He closes by asserting that, given the scale of current economic hardship and security concerns, Nigerians deserve clear, constitutionally accountable leadership — and that the question of who is truly in charge “will not disappear.”
