No Vacuum in Aso Rock Despite President, Vice President’s Absence, Declares Akpabio

• Defends Tinubu’s extended vacation, says he remains in charge from Europe 

•ADC: President, vice-president’s absence at once violates constitutional provisions

• Tinubu’s extended holiday an unacceptable abdication of mandate, says PDP faction 

•Obidient Movement insists he must tell Nigerians why he’s avoiding the US

Chuks Okocha, Sunday Aborisade in Abuja and David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka

President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, yesterday, dismissed concerns over President Bola Tinubu’s prolonged stay abroad, declaring that there was no leadership vacuum in the country and no vacancy in Aso Rock.

Akpabio, according to a statement by his Media Office, spoke in Akwa Ibom State while commissioning road projects executed by Governor Umo Eno.

He said Tinubu remained firmly in charge of the affairs of the nation despite his ongoing working vacation in Europe.

His comments came amid renewed public debate over the president’s extended absence from Nigeria and calls by some political actors for him to formally hand over power to Vice President Kashim Shettima.

Akpabio insisted that Tinubu had not ceased to exercise presidential authority, arguing that modern communication technology had made it possible for the president to direct government business from outside the country.

He said, “I am the Senate President, and I am not the acting President of Nigeria, because President Tinubu is still in power.

“He is on a working leave, and there is no absence in Aso Rock. The world is a global village, and one can give instructions over the internet. So, why are people complaining?” he said.

The Senate President further maintained that there was no constitutional vacuum requiring him or any other official to assume presidential powers.

“Right now, there is no vacancy. Asiwaju Tinubu is still in power, and he is still running the affairs of Nigeria,” Akpabio added.

He also pointed to the president’s continuing diplomatic engagements as evidence that Tinubu remained active in the discharge of his responsibilities, citing his recent communication with French President Emmanuel Macron.

The Presidency had Monday announced that Tinubu’s three-week working vacation, which began on August 30, had been extended by a few days, with the President expected to return to Nigeria at the weekend.

According to the presidency, Tinubu travelled from London to Paris after spending about a week in the United Kingdom, where he held engagements including a meeting with Macron.

The presidency also said Tinubu had remained in contact with officials in Nigeria and continued to direct the affairs of government while abroad.

It cited, among other actions, his directive for an independent investigation into the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in Minna following their detention by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.

Vice President Kashim Shettima, who had represented Tinubu at several official functions during the President’s absence, left Abuja on Sunday for New York to attend the 81st United Nations General Assembly.

The presidency said secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, would continue to represent the president at official functions while Shettima is away.

Akpabio’s intervention came as questions over the constitutional implications of the President’s prolonged absence continued to generate political debate.

While Akpabio maintained that there was no vacancy and that Tinubu remained in control, other political actors have called for a formal transfer of presidential powers to the Vice President.

The Senate President, however, argued that the president’s physical absence from Nigeria should not be equated with an absence from office, stressing that instructions could be transmitted and government decisions taken remotely.

Akpabio’s remarks therefore sought to reinforce the presidency’s position that Tinubu’s absence from the country did not amount to a leadership vacuum or a transfer of presidential authority.

ADC: President, Vice-President’s Absence at Once Violates Constitutional Provisions

The African Democratic Congress (ADC), has described the continued absence of President Bola Tinubu in the country, while Vice-President Kashim Shettima is also outside Nigeria, as a dangerous disregard for the Constitution.

The party, in a statement by the ADC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said Section 145 of the Constitution required the president, when proceeding on vacation for a period of up to 21 days, to transmit a written declaration to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, after which the Vice-President performs the functions of Acting President.

“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 opposition party also rejected the Presidency’s explanation that the president was on a “working vacation” or that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, would represent President Tinubu at official events, dismissing it as “an absurdity that raises more questions than it answers.

“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.

“Representation is not governance. Attendance at official functions is not presidential authority. Nigeria cannot be governed through ceremonial proxies, telephone calls and press statements issued from foreign capitals,” the party said.

The party added that the claim that the President has continued to direct national affairs from abroad only “compounds the absurdity”, saying a so-called “working vacation” did not remove the president’s constitutional obligations under Section 145.

“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 also described as a “national disgrace” the fact that President Emmanuel Macron of France was in New York attending the United Nations General Assembly, while President Tinubu was still vacationing in Paris, the capital of France.

“The irony would be amusing if it were not a national disgrace. 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.

“President Tinubu cannot be vacationing in Paris while President Macron is in New York representing France and expect Nigerians to accept that it is okay for their President to continue to hang around in a country after the host has left to attend to more important things. This is not merely poor optics. It is a national embarrassment.”

The party called on the Presidency and the National Assembly to provide a direct answer to one question: “Who presently exercises the constitutional powers of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and under what provision of the Constitution?”

PDP: Tinubu’s Extended Holiday Unacceptable Abdication of Presidential Mandate

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Tanimu Turaki, yesterday, said President Bola Tinubu’s extended holidays and absence at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meeting was equivalent to abdication of State duties.

He also said the action of the president was unconstitutional and unacceptable.

In a statement by the National Publicity Secretary,  Ini Ememobong, the said, ‘’Nigerians have been informed by a statement issued by the Presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, of the extension of President Tinubu’s vacation and his inability or unwillingness to attend the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

‘’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 underlying tone of the message is that Nigerians, no matter how highly or lowly placed, should not question why the President-a servant of the Nigerian people, should be held accountable for his decision to be absent from the meeting of global leaders.

‘’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.

‘’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.

‘’The President’s action is a stark opposition to the existential reality of most Nigerians. Furthermore, since he went on holiday in Europe, it was expected that he would proceed from there to America for UNGA- unarguably, the biggest gathering of world leaders, since the distance would be shorter from there.

‘’But the President and the Presidency seem to suggest that the President is at liberty to determine which tasks he handles and from where he handles them.

‘’There is no greater insult to the presidential mandate than this. If the President is not in Nigeria solving the problems of the country, he should be at UNGA seeking international help for the country.

“But our president is lounging and enjoying himself in a country whose president is at UNGA, and his handlers are questioning the rights of the President’s employers to demand accountability,’’ he stated.

Tinubu Must Tell Nigerians Why He is Avoiding the US, Obidient Movement Insists

Obidient Movement, the political support group of the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Peter Obi, has told President Bola Tinubu to explain to Nigerians why he has been avoiding the United States of America.

In a press statement by the Media and Communications Directorate of the Obedient Movement, the group wondered what Tinubu was doing in France in the name of annual vacation, while presidents of the world, including President Emmanuel Macron, the leader of his host country were in New York, trying to close deals for their countries

The statement read in part: “The decision by Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu to once again stay away from the United States and the United Nations General Assembly misses serious questions that the Nigerian Government must answer.

“The Presidency says that he is currently on annual leave and that his attention is required by domestic priorities, including the economy and security.

“But Nigerians are entitled to ask why the same Tinubu can undertake an extended European trip, travel to France and attend a private dinner with President Emmanuel Macon, yet cannot personally represent Nigeria at the United Nations General Assembly, even though we know he is prone to disgracing the country through his endless embarrassing gibberish at such an important global forum.

“His consistent absence over the Last two years only suggests that Nigeria does not take such an opportunity seriously. This is not merely about attendance at a diplomatic event because the United Nations General Assembly provides Nigeria an important platform to present its interests before the international community, engage world leaders end participate directly in discussions on matters effecting Nigeria, Africa and the wider world.

“The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, in whose country Tinubu is squandering taxpayers’ money on an undeserved vacation, is currently in New York, attending UNGA and trying to close deals for hie country. That is what any responsible president does.”