Tinubu Still In Power – Akpabio

Senate President Godswill Akpabio has rejected suggestions of a power vacuum, saying President Bola Ahmed Tinubu remained in power despite being abroad.

Akpabio, while speaking at an event in his home state, which was monitored in Abuja, said,  “I want to correct an impression.

“I am the Senate President and Chairman of the National Assembly. By your grace, the grace of God, and the support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, I am not the acting president. Because the President is still in power,” Akpabio said.

READ ALSO: Tinubu’s 21-Day Absence: Sowore Tells NASS To Invoke Section 145, Hand Power To Shettima

The Senate President said, “The President is on a working leave. So, there is no absence in Aso Rock. What he cannot do here, he is doing abroad. The other day, he was with President Macron on a state visit, discussing bilateral relations to bring things back to Nigeria. And then, because he could not attend the UNGA — United Nations General Assembly — his Vice-President went,” he said.

Akpabio said Tinubu had continued to direct the affairs of the country while abroad, arguing that modern technology allowed the President to govern remotely.

“There is no vacancy. People who are talking are just talking. I am the only person, as Chairman of the National Assembly, who can speak for the National Assembly and say there is a vacancy and there will be a vacancy.

“Right now, there is no vacancy. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is still in power and running the affairs of Nigeria. Nigeria has become; the world has become a global village; you can give instructions even from the internet, anything. So why are people complaining?” he said.

Akpabio, who dismissed suggestions that he is performing the functions of the President amid the continued absence of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima from Nigeria, disclosed that Tinubu remained in charge of the country’s affairs.

Tinubu left Nigeria on 30 August for what the Presidency initially described as a three-week working vacation. The State House announced on Monday that he had extended his stay in Europe by a few days and was expected to return to Nigeria over the weekend.

Shettima, meanwhile, travelled to New York on September 20 to represent Nigeria at the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). The Presidency said the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, would continue to represent Tinubu at some official engagements while the President remained abroad.

The simultaneous absence of the President and Vice-President has triggered a debate over the constitutional procedure for handling presidential absence.

National Publicity Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Bolaji Abdullahi, questioned who was exercising the President’s constitutional powers and on what legal basis.

He described the situation as a “dangerous disregard for the Constitution” and called on the Presidency and National Assembly to clarify who currently exercises presidential powers.

Similarly, African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, urged the National Assembly to invoke Section 145(2) of the 1999 Constitution and mandate Shettima to perform the functions of the President as Acting President.

Sowore argued that Tinubu’s initial 21-day vacation had elapsed and that the subsequent extension of his stay abroad had renewed questions over the application of Section 145.

The provision states that when the President proceeds on vacation or is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, he is to transmit a written declaration to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. It further provides that where the President fails or is unable to transmit the declaration within 21 days, the National Assembly may, by a simple majority in each chamber, mandate the Vice-President to perform the functions of the President as Acting President.

The Presidency has similarly maintained that Tinubu remains in charge and has continued to direct government affairs from abroad. In announcing the extension of his vacation, the State House cited, among other actions, the President’s directive for an independent panel to investigate the deaths of 37 illegal miners in Minna, Niger State.

The controversy over the President’s absence is therefore centred on the interpretation and application of Section 145, with opposition figures demanding clarification on whether the constitutional procedure for transferring presidential functions has been followed.

This version keeps the competing positions clearly attributed and separates the constitutional provision from the political arguments surrounding its application.