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• PDP alleges abdication of responsibility • ADC raises Section 145 questions
From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
Opposition parties have stepped up criticism of President Bola Tinubu over his extended vacation in Europe and absence from the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), questioning both his continued stay abroad and the constitutional arrangement for the exercise of presidential powers.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) described Tinubu’s absence from UNGA as an “abdication of responsibility,” while the African Democratic Congress (ADC) demanded to know whether he transmitted power to Vice-President Kashim Shettima in accordance with Section 145 of the Constitution before proceeding on vacation.
The ADC also questioned why the National Assembly had not acted under Section 145(2), if no declaration transferring presidential functions was transmitted after the President remained away for more than 21 days.
The Presidency, however, rejected suggestions of a leadership vacuum, insisting that Tinubu remains in touch with developments at home and continues to direct the affairs of government from Europe. It said Shettima has the President’s full mandate to lead Nigeria’s delegation to UNGA in New York, while Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, continues to represent him at some official functions.
Tinubu left Nigeria on August 30 for a three-week working vacation, beginning in London before moving to Paris. The Presidency announced on September 21 that he had extended the vacation by a few days and would return to Nigeria at the weekend.
The controversy has intensified with Shettima also outside the country after leaving Abuja on September 20 for New York to represent Tinubu at UNGA.
The Tanimu Turaki-led Interim National Working Committee of the PDP, in a statement by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, said the President should either be in Nigeria addressing the country’s challenges or at UNGA advancing its interests.
The party said that since Tinubu was already in Europe, it expected him to proceed to New York for the annual gathering of world leaders.
“The statement, which is issued in utmost bad faith, is as disappointing as it is insulting to Nigerians. It is disappointing because no reasonable parent or caretaker goes on vacation when his house is burning,” the PDP said.
It added: “We must remind the President and the Presidency that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu sought for this job, and by being sworn in, he became the servant, not lord and master, of the country and all Nigerians, who have a right to question how he governs them.” The PDP questioned the timing of the President’s vacation against the backdrop of insecurity and economic hardship.
“It is therefore necessary to question why the President will be going on vacation at a time when insecurity is on a steady rise, the macroeconomic indices are looking bleak, and the citizens are fed daily with renewed hopelessness,” it said.
“If the President is not in Nigeria solving the problems of the country, he should be at UNGA seeking international help for the country.”
The party said Tinubu’s continued stay in Europe while world leaders gathered in New York amounted to a failure to take advantage of an important international platform to advance Nigeria’s interests.
In a separate intervention, the ADC shifted attention to the constitutional implications of the President’s extended absence, particularly with Shettima also outside the country.
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Its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, rejected the Presidency’s description of Tinubu’s absence as a “working vacation,” arguing that representation at official functions could not substitute for the constitutional exercise of presidential authority. “There is no constitutional category known as a ‘working vacation’. Presidential authority cannot be transferred by convenience, protocol or press statement. Nigeria is a constitutional democracy, not a private enterprise to be managed remotely from a holiday destination,” the ADC said.
The party demanded to know whether Tinubu transmitted a written declaration to the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives before proceeding on vacation.
Section 145(1) of the Constitution provides for the Vice-President to discharge presidential functions as Acting President when the President transmits such a declaration while proceeding on vacation or otherwise unable to discharge the functions of the office.
Section 145(2) provides a mechanism involving the National Assembly where the President fails or is unable to transmit the declaration within 21 days.
“President Tinubu left Nigeria on 30 August and has now been away for more than 21 days. We therefore demand to know whether the required declaration was transmitted by the President. If he did not, we would like to know why the National Assembly has ignored Section 145 of the Constitution,” the ADC said.
The party also rejected the Presidency’s reference to Akume representing Tinubu at official engagements.
“Representing the President at events and ceremonies does not confer constitutional powers. The Secretary to the Government of the Federation is a mere appointee of the President. He may attend events or deliver speeches on the President’s behalf, but he cannot exercise the constitutional powers of the President or Acting President,” it said.
“Representation is not governance. Attendance at official functions is not presidential authority.”
The ADC also contrasted Tinubu’s stay in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron’s attendance at UNGA in New York, describing the situation as embarrassing.
“At a time when world leaders are advancing their countries’ interests at the United Nations General Assembly, Nigeria’s President is holed up in the French capital while his host has left to pursue his own country’s national interest,” it said.
The party consequently asked: “Who presently exercises the constitutional powers of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and under what provision of the Constitution?”
The Presidency has maintained that Tinubu continues to direct government affairs while abroad, citing his order for an independent investigation into the deaths of 37 miners following their detention by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Niger State.
It has also defended Tinubu’s decision to send Shettima to UNGA, saying the Vice-President carries the full mandate of the President and would deliver Nigeria’s national statement and participate in high-level meetings and bilateral engagements.
Tinubu attended the UN General Assembly in 2023 but delegated Shettima to represent Nigeria in 2024 and 2025. Shettima is again leading the Nigerian delegation at the 81st session, making it the third consecutive UNGA Tinubu has not attended personally.
