‘Who Is in Charge of Nigeria?’ – Atiku Questions Tinubu, Shettima’s Overseas Trips

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has questioned the constitutional status of President Bola Tinubu’s absence from Nigeria, asking who is currently exercising presidential authority after the 21-day period announced for the President’s annual vacation elapsed.

Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), raised the issue in a statement issued on Monday, September 21, 2026, 21 days after Tinubu left Nigeria for what the Presidency described as a three-week vacation in Europe.

The State House had announced on August 30 that Tinubu would travel to Europe for three weeks as part of his annual leave, with London listed as his first stop.

The former Vice President said the President’s absence had raised questions about the procedure for transferring presidential authority under Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution.

According to Atiku, the provision requires 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, after which the Vice President performs the functions of President as Acting President.

He said Nigerians had not been shown any such communication from Tinubu to Vice President Kashim Shettima.

“President Tinubu left Nigeria on 30 August. The Presidency publicly announced a three-week vacation. Yet, to date, Nigerians have not been shown any constitutional letter transmitting presidential authority to Vice President Kashim Shettima,” Atiku said.

“The 21 days have now elapsed. If such a letter exists, the Presidency should publish it immediately.”

Atiku further argued that Section 145(2) provides a mechanism where the President fails to transmit the required declaration within 21 days. He said the National Assembly should explain why that procedure had not been activated if no declaration was transmitted.

“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 said.

“This is not a matter of political convenience. It is a matter of constitutional order.”

Section 145 deals with the President’s inability to discharge the functions of office and provides for the Vice President to perform those functions as Acting President following the required declaration. The constitutional provision also contains a role for the National Assembly where the required declaration is not made within the stipulated period.

Atiku’s statement comes as Shettima is also outside Nigeria, having travelled to New York to represent Nigeria at the 81st United Nations General Assembly. The Vice President is expected to lead Nigeria’s delegation and deliver the country’s national statement at the gathering.

Atiku described the simultaneous absence of the President and Vice President as a situation requiring clarification.

“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 UN General Assembly at which President Tinubu has delegated Nigeria’s representation to his deputy,” he said.

“So again: who is exercising presidential authority in Nigeria today, and under what constitutional instrument?”

The Presidency has continued to describe Tinubu’s stay in Europe as a working vacation. The State House has also published details of the President’s official engagements while abroad, including his September 18 private dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris.

Atiku, however, argued that such engagements did not resolve what he described as the constitutional question surrounding the President’s absence.

“Nigeria cannot be governed by assumptions. It cannot be governed by presidential social-media posts from Europe,” he said.

“It cannot be governed by photographs from private dinners at the Élysée Palace.

“It cannot be governed on autopilot.”

The ADC candidate also linked his concerns to recent developments at home, particularly the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Minna, Niger State. President Tinubu had ordered an investigation into the deaths, with the State House describing the incident as one requiring a full and transparent probe.

Atiku also referred to the rising cost of petrol and the broader economic pressure facing Nigerians.

“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,” he said.

He said the issue should not be treated as a political disagreement, insisting that the relevant constitutional procedure should be made clear to the public.

“The Constitution does not recognise a ‘working vacation’ as an alternative system of presidential succession,” Atiku said.

“It provides a procedure. That procedure must be obeyed.”

He therefore called on the Presidency to disclose whether Tinubu transmitted the declaration required under Section 145(1) before leaving Nigeria.

He also asked Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas to clarify whether they received any communication from the President concerning the transfer of presidential authority.

“The Presidency should therefore tell Nigerians immediately whether President Tinubu transmitted the declaration contemplated by Section 145(1) before leaving the country,” Atiku said.

“The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House should equally tell Nigerians whether such a communication was received.”

He added that if no declaration had been transmitted within the constitutionally stipulated period, the National Assembly should explain its position on the procedure provided under Section 145(2).

“Nigeria is bigger than any President,” he said.

“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?”