Oyo State Governor and Allied Peoples Movement (APM) presidential candidate, Seyi Makinde, has questioned President Bola Tinubu’s decision not to transmit presidential powers to Vice-President Kashim Shettima after spending more than 21 days outside Nigeria.
Makinde raised the issue on Tuesday at the North-West town hall meeting organised by the Makinde/Daura Presidential Campaign Organisation in Katsina State.
The development has also triggered criticism from the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, who both cited Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution in calling for clarification over the President’s prolonged absence.
Tinubu left Nigeria on August 30 for what the Presidency initially described as a three-week working vacation. He spent about a week in London before travelling to Paris, France, where he met French President Emmanuel Macron. The Presidency subsequently announced that he had extended his stay abroad by a few days and was expected to return at the weekend.
Section 145 provides for the President to transmit a written declaration to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives when proceeding on vacation or otherwise unable to discharge the functions of office. It further provides for the Vice-President to perform the functions of President as Acting President, while subsection two provides a procedure for the National Assembly where the required declaration is not transmitted within 21 days.
Makinde said he found the situation concerning, arguing that the President should transmit power to his deputy when away from the country for an extended vacation.
“Anytime I have to travel out, not for work but on vacation, for more than 21 days, I transmit power to the Deputy Governor. Why is this not happening at the national level?” he asked.
He added that if the President became unable to perform his duties, whether because of illness, a medical trip or any other form of incapacitation, the Vice-President should be able to assume the functions of the office in accordance with the Constitution.
The ADC, through its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, also questioned whether Tinubu had transmitted the declaration required under Section 145.
The party asked whether the necessary declaration had been submitted to the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives and, if not, why the National Assembly had not acted on the constitutional provision.
The ADC also rejected the Presidency’s description of Tinubu’s absence as a “working vacation”, arguing that the arrangement did not resolve what it described as the constitutional questions surrounding the President’s stay abroad.
The party further questioned the continued absence of both Tinubu and Shettima from Nigeria, as the Vice-President left Abuja on September 20 for New York to represent Nigeria at the 81st United Nations General Assembly.
Sowore separately urged the National Assembly to invoke Section 145(2) and mandate Shettima to perform the functions of President as Acting President if the required declaration had not been transmitted.
He called on Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, to clarify whether they had received the declaration required under Section 145(1).
Sowore also argued that the Presidency’s description of Tinubu’s stay as a “working vacation” did not constitute an exception to the constitutional provisions on presidential absence.
However, the Presidency has maintained that Tinubu remains in charge of the affairs of government and can exercise his constitutional responsibilities from outside the country.
Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, said the President’s ability to perform his constitutional duties was not dependent on his physical location.
“It is funny how opposition candidates are asking the question who is in charge of Nigeria simply because the President and Vice President are out of the country,” Bwala wrote on X.
He added that Tinubu, as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, could direct and administer the affairs of Nigeria from anywhere.
The Presidency has also said Tinubu remains engaged with developments in Nigeria while abroad, while Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, has represented him at some official events.
The dispute has consequently centred on the interpretation and application of Section 145, with opposition figures demanding clarification over whether the constitutional procedure for presidential absence has been followed, while the Presidency maintains that Tinubu remains able to discharge his responsibilities from abroad.
