Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has questioned who is constitutionally exercising the powers of the President following the expiration of the 21-day period since President Bola Tinubu left Nigeria for a three-week annual vacation.
Tinubu departed the country on August 30, with the Presidency announcing that he had embarked on a three-week vacation as part of his annual leave.
In a statement made available to The News Chronicle on Monday, Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, said the expiration of the 21-day period raised questions about whether the constitutional requirements for the transfer of presidential authority had been fulfilled.
He referred to Section 145 of the Constitution, which 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, allowing the Vice President to perform the functions of the President as Acting President
Atiku said Nigerians had yet to be shown any such communication transmitting presidential authority to Vice President Kashim Shettima.
“Twenty-one days have come and gone since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu left Nigeria on what the Presidency described as a three-week annual vacation,” he said.
READ ALSO: Anambra Debt Controversy: Obi Should Honour His Promise and Quit 2027 Race — Presidency
“Today, Nigerians are entitled to ask a very simple constitutional question: Who is in charge of Nigeria?”
According to Atiku, if the required declaration was transmitted, the Presidency should make it public.
He added that if no declaration was transmitted within the period prescribed by the Constitution, the National Assembly should explain why the procedure provided under Section 145 had not been activated.
The former Vice President said the issue was not one of political convenience but of constitutional order.
His comments came as Shettima travelled to New York to represent Tinubu at the United Nations General Assembly.
Atiku questioned how presidential authority was being exercised with both the President and Vice President outside the country and urged the relevant authorities to clarify the constitutional basis for the arrangement.
“So again: who is exercising presidential authority in Nigeria today, and under what constitutional instrument?” he asked.
Atiku also cited recent developments in the country, including the deaths of 37 Nigerians in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Minna, Niger State, as well as rising petrol prices and the wider cost-of-living crisis.
He argued that such circumstances made clarity over the exercise of presidential authority particularly important.
The former Vice President also criticised Tinubu’s engagements abroad, including a private dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, arguing that diplomatic activities could not replace a clear constitutional arrangement for the exercise of presidential powers.
“Nigeria itself cannot be placed on vacation,” Atiku said.
He urged the Presidency to clarify whether Tinubu transmitted the declaration contemplated under Section 145(1) before leaving the country.
He also called on the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to state whether they received any such communication.
“If no declaration was transmitted within the constitutionally stipulated period, the National Assembly must explain why the procedure provided by Section 145(2) has not been activated,” he said.
Atiku said Nigerians deserved visible, accountable and constitutionally grounded leadership amid the country’s economic difficulties, security challenges and other pressing concerns.
He ended his statement with a question: “Who, constitutionally, is in charge of Nigeria?”
