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Former Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, has accused President Bola Tinubu of breaching the Nigerian Constitution by proceeding on a prolonged vacation without transmitting power to Vice President Kashim Shettima.
Dalung made the allegation on Monday while speaking with newsmen, where he questioned the constitutional basis of the Presidency’s description of Tinubu’s absence as a “working vacation”.
According to the former minister, the Constitution does not recognise the term “working vacation” and requires the President to transmit power to the Vice President whenever he proceeds on leave.
“The Nigerian president proceeded on vacation. It was announced that he was going to proceed on working vacation. Again, the concept, working vacation is incongruous and unknown in our Constitution,” Dalung said.
“There is nothing called working vacation or working leave. The Constitution does not recognise that. The media or the press cannot amend the Constitution of Nigeria with a press statement.
“Where we are is whether the president has complied or has violated the Constitution and in my opinion, he has done that.”
Dalung said the controversy was not about whether Tinubu could continue performing official duties while abroad, but whether the constitutional procedure governing presidential absence had been followed.
“The issue here is not that the absence of the president has affected anything, it is a constitutional issue which is dealt with in Section 145 subsection 1,” he said.
“The rule is clear, when the president proceeds on a vacation. Whether it is a one day vacation, five minutes vacation, the Constitution requires that a vacuum will not exist at all.
“It is not about performance of a government function, he will have to transmit that of acting president to his vice and the requirement and expression here is ‘shall’.”
The former minister also questioned the National Assembly’s response, citing Section 145(2), which provides for parliamentary action if a President fails to transmit the required declaration after 21 days.
“The conversation should be why has the president failed to comply with Section 145 subsection 1 of the Constitution and why has the National Assembly failed to comply with Section 145 subsection 2 which says that if a president fails to transmit or delegate for a period of 21 days after proceeding on leave, the National Assembly shall with a simple majority mandate the Vice President to act in that capacity,” Dalung said.
He added: “If the president is not proceeding on vacation, he can work anywhere in the world but the moment the president announces that he is proceeding on a leave, the Constitution requires him to transmit power.”
Tinubu left Nigeria on August 30 for a three-week vacation in Europe, according to the Presidency. The State House subsequently announced that the President had extended his stay by a few days and was expected back in the country at the weekend.
The President’s prolonged absence has generated debate over the constitutional implications of his stay abroad. Senate President Godswill Akpabio, however, has maintained that there is no leadership vacuum, arguing that Tinubu remains in charge and continues to run the affairs of government.
Dalung also demanded greater transparency from the Presidency over the President’s whereabouts and activities while abroad.
“We have to depend on the state press media to give us transparent information of the president’s whereabouts and what he is doing, and must be accountable for where the president is,” he said.
“But as it is, they are economical with the truth. Nigerians need to know where their president is and what he is doing.”
He further criticised the National Assembly for failing to act on the constitutional provision, concluding: “So, we are living in what we call democratic anarchy with impunity as the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
