Akwa Ibom State Government Labels Akpabio ‘Acting President’
Akwa Ibom State Government has described Senate President Godswill Akpabio as the “Acting President of Nigeria” in a post on its official Facebook page.
The description appeared during the state government’s coverage of the official reception of a new Airbus A220-300 aircraft acquired by Ibom Air in Uyo, the state capital.
The Facebook post introduced Akpabio as “the Acting President of Nigeria” and also identified him as the President of the Senate and Chairman of the National Assembly.
The post read: “Arrival of the Acting President of Nigeria, Sen. Dr. Godswill Akpabio, GCON, President of the Senate, Chairman of the National Assembly, at the Official Reception and Water Cannon Ceremony for the brand-new Airbus A220-300, as part of the activities commemorating the 39th Anniversary Celebration of Akwa Ibom State.”
The wording, however, was later removed from the post, with the state government attributing the reference to an error by its social media handler.
Akwa Ibom Commissioner for Information, Aniekan Umanah, said the description was not authorised by the state government and insisted that Akpabio was not acting president.
When contacted about the post, Umanah initially said he was unaware of it. After being shown a screenshot of the original publication, he said: “I don’t know. Maybe somebody made a mistake. There’s nothing like that (acting president) in the country,”
The commissioner later further clarified the position of the state government, saying: “Nobody authorised that (reference) here. Maybe the people typing may have made a mistake, but that cannot be the position of the state government.”
Following the simultaneous absence of President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima from the country, questions had emerged over the constitutional process for exercising presidential powers, although Shettima has since returned to Nigeria.
Tinubu left Abuja on August 30 for a three-week vacation in Europe, with London as his first destination. The Presidency said he would return after the holiday and resume his engagements, including activities ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Shettima had departed Nigeria a day earlier, on August 29, to represent Tinubu at the African Union’s 21st Extraordinary Session in Luanda, Angola. He returned to Nigeria on August 31.
The simultaneous absence of the President and Vice President had raised questions about who was constitutionally authorised to perform presidential functions during the period.
Under Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution, a President who proceeds on vacation or is otherwise unable to perform his functions is expected to transmit a written declaration to the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives stating that the Vice President should act as President.
Section 146, on the other hand, provides for the Senate President to assume the presidency in specified circumstances involving a vacancy in the offices of both the President and Vice President. The provision does not automatically make the Senate President acting president simply because the President and Vice President are abroad.
The issue had also featured in comments by opposition figures. At an opposition summit in Abuja, Peoples Redemption Party National Chairman Hakeem Baba-Ahmed questioned the situation, asking, “Who is in charge now?”
Akpabio was in Uyo for the reception of the latest aircraft joining the Ibom Air fleet. The event was part of activities marking the 39th anniversary of Akwa Ibom State.
The Airbus A220-300, with registration number 5N-CDC, is one of 10 aircraft ordered for Ibom Air during the administration of former Governor Udom Emmanuel. The aircraft was handed over at Airbus’ A220 final assembly facility in Mirabel, Canada, before its arrival in Nigeria.
Akpabio, a former governor of Akwa Ibom State who served from 2007 to 2015, later represented Akwa Ibom North-West in the Senate before becoming Senate President.
