Presidency Gives Details of Tinubu’s Working Leave as Atiku Claims ‘Power Vacuum’

…President returns this weekend as 2027 campaign shifts into high gear

By Emmanuel Olugua
The Presidency has given details of how President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has continued to direct affairs of state during his extended working vacation in Europe, as former Vice President Atiku Abubakar raised questions over who is constitutionally exercising presidential authority in the country.

The Presidency said on Monday that Tinubu, who left Nigeria on August 30 for an initial three-week working vacation, had extended his stay by a few days and would return to the country at the weekend.

Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said Tinubu had remained in touch with officials at home and has continued to issue presidential directives while abroad.

The clarification came as Atiku, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), argued that the expiration of the originally announced 21-day vacation raised questions under Section 145 of the Constitution and demanded disclosure of whether Tinubu transmitted a written declaration to the National Assembly handing presidential functions to Vice President Kashim Shettima.

According to the Presidency, however, Tinubu’s absence from the country has not stopped him from conducting government business, stating that there was no power vacuum in Aso Rock.

One of the major decisions cited by the Presidency was the President’s order for a full and independent investigation into the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners following their detention by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Minna, Niger State.

Tinubu had directed that the circumstances surrounding the deaths be comprehensively investigated and that any official found culpable through action, abuse, or negligence should face prosecution.

The President began his working vacation in London before moving to Paris after about a week. While in France, he met French President Emmanuel Macron as well as businessman Vincent Bolloré, whose business interests include major media and entertainment investments.

The Presidency said Tinubu had also delegated Vice President Shettima to represent him at official engagements during the period.

Shettima left Abuja on September 20 for New York, where he is representing Nigeria at the 81st United Nations General Assembly and is scheduled to deliver the country’s national statement.

Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, has similarly represented the President at official events and will continue to perform assigned representational duties while Tinubu and Shettima are abroad, the Presidency said.

But Atiku challenged the arrangement, insisting that the central question was not whether government officials could represent the President at ceremonies but whether the constitutional requirements governing presidential vacations had been complied with.

He cited Section 145 of the Constitution, which provides for the President to transmit a written declaration to the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives when proceeding on vacation, enabling the Vice President to discharge presidential functions as Acting President.

Atiku said Nigerians had not been shown such a letter and called on the Presidency to publish it if it existed.

He further argued that if no declaration was transmitted within 21 days, the constitutional provision empowering the National Assembly to mandate the Vice President to perform the functions of President would become relevant.

The former Vice President also pointed to Shettima’s presence in New York and the reported absence of Senate President Godswill Akpabio from the country, asking: “Who, constitutionally, is in charge of Nigeria?”

The Presidency, however, dismissed Atiku’s criticism of Tinubu’s absence from the UN General Assembly as baseless and irresponsible, noting that Shettima was officially representing the President at the gathering.

Tinubu’s return this weekend is expected to bring his extended European stay to an end at a time when political activities ahead of the January 2027 presidential election are gathering momentum.

Even during the President’s absence, political consultations have continued, with Director-General of the Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abubakar Yari, leading senior party figures in meetings with prominent traditional rulers across the country.

Tinubu is expected to return to an increasingly active political calendar as the presidential campaign moves towards its more intensive phase.