By James Adamu
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has issued a constitutional warning to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, demanding that he either formally transmit power to Vice President Kashim Shettima or have it taken from him by operation of the Constitution.
In a statement released on Monday, Atiku said 21 days have elapsed since President Tinubu left Nigeria on what the Presidency described as a three week annual vacation, yet Nigerians have not been shown any constitutional letter transmitting presidential authority to Vice President Shettima.
Atiku, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), posed what he called “a very simple constitutional question: Who is in charge of Nigeria?”
Citing Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution, Atiku noted that the provision is “not ambiguous about presidential vacations.”
He explained that it provides that whenever the President proceeds on vacation, he shall transmit a written declaration to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, whereupon the Vice President performs the functions of President as Acting President.
He added that where the President fails to transmit that declaration within 21 days, the Constitution provides a further safeguard, and the National Assembly shall, by a simple majority of each House, mandate the Vice President to perform the functions of President as Acting President.
President Tinubu left Nigeria on 30 August, and the Presidency announced a three week vacation. But according to Atiku, Nigerians have not been shown any constitutional letter transmitting presidential authority to Vice President Shettima.
“The 21 days have now elapsed. If such a letter exists, the Presidency should publish it immediately,” Atiku said. “If it does not, then the constitutional mechanism contemplated by Section 145(2) has been triggered, and the National Assembly owes Nigerians an explanation as to why it has not acted.” He stressed: “This is not a matter of political convenience. It is a matter of constitutional order.”
Atiku noted that the situation is “made even more disturbing” by the fact that Vice President Shettima is himself presently in New York representing Nigeria at the United Nations General Assembly, the third consecutive UNGA at which President Tinubu has delegated Nigeria’s representation to his deputy. “So again: who is exercising presidential authority in Nigeria today, and under what constitutional instrument?” he asked.
The former Vice President warned that Nigeria cannot be governed by assumptions, by presidential social media posts from Europe, by photographs from private dinners at the Élysée Palace, or on autopilot.
He pointed to pressing national issues that have unfolded while the President has been abroad, including the deaths of 37 Nigerians in NSCDC custody in Minna, an incident grave enough to trigger investigations, suspensions and demands for independent scrutiny.
He also noted that petrol is selling for as much as ₦1,500 per litre in parts of the country, worsening transportation costs and squeezing families already struggling with the cost of food, electricity, rent and other necessities.
“These are not ordinary times. Yet the President is abroad. The Vice President is abroad. The Senate President is abroad. And Nigerians have not been told, in the clear constitutional language required of a serious democracy, who is exercising the powers of the President,” Atiku said.
While acknowledging that President Tinubu’s private dinner with President Emmanuel Macron in Paris may serve diplomatic purposes, Atiku insisted that Nigeria itself cannot be placed on vacation.
“The Constitution does not recognise a ‘working vacation’ as an alternative system of presidential succession. It provides a procedure. That procedure must be obeyed,” he said.
Atiku issued three direct demands. He said the Presidency should tell Nigerians immediately whether President Tinubu transmitted the declaration contemplated by Section 145(1) before leaving the country.
He said the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House should tell Nigerians whether such a communication was received. He also said that 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.
Atiku concluded: “Nigeria is bigger than any President. At a time of severe economic hardship, rising energy costs, security challenges and the shocking deaths of citizens in government custody, the country deserves visible, accountable and constitutionally grounded leadership. The question will not disappear: Who, constitutionally, is in charge of Nigeria?”
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