…as Presidency announces another extension
*Peter Obi, Constitutional lawyers, analysts kick
By Ime Silas
The extended absence of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu from the country has continued to generate uncertainties and constitutional debates, following indications that his return has been delayed again, despite an earlier announcement by the Presidency that he would return at the weekend.
President Tinubu will not return to Nigeria this weekend as earlier announced by the Presidency, a development that has heightened public concern and triggered reactions from across the political spectrum.
Sources within the Presidency now say the President is expected back on Tuesday, arriving in Lagos, not Abuja as many had anticipated.
The change comes after the State House said last Monday that Tinubu had extended his working vacation in Europe by a few days and would return at the weekend. That assurance has now been overtaken by the new Tuesday date, further fueling speculations.
The President left Nigeria on August 30 for London, before travelling on to Paris, where he met French President; Emmanuel Macron and businessman; Vincent Bolloré.
While in Paris, he also witnessed the signing of agreements between Ogun State and DP World for a proposed deep-sea port and 10,000-hectare special economic zone, a deal the Federal Government described as strategic to its economic reform agenda.
The Presidency says he has remained in touch with officials at home and continued to direct government affairs while away. However, as at the time of this report, there is still no official statement confirming the new Tuesday return date or the planned arrival in Lagos.
The lack of a formal communication has become a subject of national debate, with constitutional lawyers, civil society organizations and opposition leaders questioning whether the President should have formally transmitted power to Vice President Kashim Shettima in line with Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution.
Joining the debate is the presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress, NDC, Mr. Peter Obi, who on Sunday, queried the President’s continuous absence from critical international engagements, particularly the United Nations General Assembly, UNGA.
In a statement personally signed by him titled “Where Is Nigeria’s President?” and made available to journalists, Obi contrasted the dynamism of Ghanaian President, John Dramani Mahama at the 81st UNGA with what he described as Nigeria’s conspicuous absence.
Obi said: “The dynamic President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama, delivered a remarkable address at the 81st United Nations General Assembly. The international community has commended his leadership and the substance of his address. It is a reminder of what leadership can produce when competence, capacity, compassion, commitment and character come together in the service of a nation.
“Against this background, many are asking: Where is the President of Africa’s most populous nation, a country of more than 200 million people – more than Ghana – whose leader has been absent from the global stage for three consecutive UNGAs?
“Nigeria’s President, who ought to be representing the country and providing leadership for Africa at the international level, has not attended any of these three global gatherings. Where is he, particularly at a time when the country faces significant challenges, both domestically and internationally?
“Although our Vice President, Kashim Shettima, was present, the question remains: Where is the President? Let us continue to pray for his return and for his leadership in addressing the many challenges confronting the nation”.
Obi’s remark has since gone viral, resonating with many Nigerians who believe that the President’s presence at the UNGA would have provided an opportunity to market Nigeria’s reform agenda, attract investments and assert Africa’s position on global issues.
Reacting to Obi’s statement, a Presidency source who spoke on condition of anonymity insisted that governance has not suffered and that Vice President Shettima ably represented Nigeria and delivered President Tinubu’s address at the General Assembly.
“The President is on a working vacation and is in constant touch with the Vice President, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and other cabinet members. The trip to London and Paris has also yielded positive economic outcomes for Ogun State and Nigeria at large. There is no vacuum,” the source said.
But legal experts disagree. A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, who declined to be named, said the prolonged absence without transmission of power creates a dangerous precedent.
“The framers of the Constitution envisaged this kind of scenario. Section 145 is not decorative. Once the President will be away for an extended period, he should transmit a letter. What we are seeing is constitutional improvisation, which breeds uncertainty in the polity,” he said.
As argued, President Tinubu has now been outside the country for over three weeks, presiding over critical national matters remotely, without formally handing over to Vice President Kashim Shettima in acting capacity, a situation they say creates a constitutional lacuna.
Constitutional lawyer, Barr. Inibehe Effiong, in a reaction last week, said: “The Constitution is very clear. The President cannot be on an extended vacation outside the country and continue to rule the country via WhatsApp and Zoom from Europe. If the President knows he will be away for this long, he should do the needful and transmit power to the Vice President to act. What we have now is an avoidable constitutional uncertainty.”
Similarly, a former federal lawmaker who spoke on condition of anonymity said the continuous shifting of the return date without a formal communication to the National Assembly undermines the principles of accountability.
On his part, a political analyst, Dr. Sam Amadi, noted that while the President is entitled to vacation, the handling of his travel schedule has raised questions about public communication.
“The issue is not whether the President can travel, but how the Presidency manages public information. When you say the President will return at the weekend and then shift it to Tuesday without an official statement, and say he will arrive in Lagos instead of Abuja, you create room for rumours. The Presidency must learn to communicate promptly and officially,” Amadi said.
Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) deals with an Acting President during temporary absence of the President.
According to the provision: “Whenever the President transmits to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a written declaration that he is proceeding on vacation or that he is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary such functions shall be discharged by the Vice-President as Acting President”.
Contextually, when the President wants to go on vacation, or knows he will be unable to perform his duties temporarily, he is required to send a written letter to the Senate President and the Speaker of the House.
Once that letter is transmitted, the Vice President automatically becomes Acting President and discharges the President’s functions.
The Vice President continues in that acting capacity until the President sends another written declaration that he has returned and is ready to resume office.
This section is different from Section 144 and 146, which deal with permanent incapacity, death, resignation or removal.
The current debate around President Tinubu’s absence is whether that written declaration contemplated by Section 145 was transmitted to the National Assembly, since the Presidency says he is on a working vacation and Vice President Shettima is representing him at the 81st UNGA.
As Nigerians await the President’s expected arrival in Lagos on Tuesday, many are asking whether the President will upon his return address the nation on his long stay abroad, his engagements in Europe, and the issues raised by opposition figures about Nigeria’s waning visibility on the global stage.
The lack of a definitive official statement has fueled speculations in the polity, with many Nigerians taking to social media to demand clarity on the President’s health, whereabouts and the actual date of his return.
For now, the extended absence continues to dominate national discourse, with many calling for a clear constitutional interpretation to avoid setting a precedent that could be exploited in the future.
