Extended Vacation: ADC, Makinde, Sowore Accuse Tinubu Of Breaching Constitution

By Ademu Idakwo, Abuja and Godwin Enna, Katsina

The opposition yesterday took a swipe at President Bola Tinubu for allegedly breaching the Constitution over his refusal to transmit power to his Vice President after extending his 21-day working vacation.

This is even as the Vice President is attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York, United States.

President Tinubu had extended his 21-day vacation by one week. He is in France.

Reacting, however, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) described Tinubu’s continued absence while Vice-President Kashim Shettima is also outside Nigeria as a dangerous disregard for the Constitution.

The ADC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said that Section 145 of the Constitution requires 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.”

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

Also, Oyo State governor and APM presidential candidate, Seyi Makinde, faulted President Tinubu for not transmitting power to Vice President Kashim Shettima after he extended his working vacation to Europe.

Speaking in Katsina where he held a town hall meeting, Makinde said, “I have looked at the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and, of course, as a state governor, I also operate under that Constitution. Anytime I have to travel out, not for work but on vacation, for more than 21 days, I transmit power to the Deputy Governor. Why is this not happening at the national level?”

He cited Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution which provides for 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.

“Section 145 of the Constitution provides for 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 or otherwise unable to discharge the functions of office. If the President is unable, whether through sickness, a medical trip or incapacitation, to function, we are all human. Anything can happen to anybody at any time. If that happens, the President should also transmit power to the Vice President,” Makinde said.

“I promise you that, as your President, I will follow the Constitution to the letter. If I am not going to be available, if I am on vacation, I will transmit power to the Vice President. Record this and hold me accountable,” he added.

Similarly, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress in the 2027 general election, Omoyele Sowore, has called on the National Assembly to invoke Section 145(2) of the 1999 Constitution.

He urged the lawmakers to mandate Vice-President Kashim Shettima to perform the functions of President following President Bola Tinubu’s extended stay abroad.

Sowore made the demand in a statement yesterday after the Presidency announced that Tinubu had extended his working vacation by a few days and would return to Nigeria at the weekend.

Sowore said the 21-day period had elapsed without any publicly established declaration transferring presidential functions to Shettima.

“The National Assembly must immediately commence the constitutional process prescribed by Section 145(2) of the 1999 Constitution to mandate Vice-President Kashim Shettima to perform the functions of President as Acting President,” he said.

He argued that the Presidency’s description of Tinubu’s absence as a “working vacation” did not alter the constitutional provisions governing temporary presidential absence.

“The Presidency cannot invent a ‘working vacation’ exception that does not appear in the Constitution. Its claim that Tinubu continues to ‘direct the affairs of the nation’ from abroad does not answer the constitutional question,” Sowore said.

Sowore therefore challenged Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas to clarify whether they received the declaration contemplated under Section 145(1).

He said, “If they did not, the 21-day threshold has passed, and the National Assembly must begin the process prescribed by Section 145(2) to mandate Vice-President Kashim Shettima to perform the functions of President as Acting President.”

He added that the issue was no longer simply about the President’s vacation but about compliance with the constitutional procedure for the exercise of presidential powers during his absence.

“This is no longer about Tinubu’s vacation. It is about whether Nigeria will be governed according to its Constitution,” Sowore said.

Tinubu left the country on August 30 for a three-week vacation, initially travelling to London before proceeding to Paris.

Section 145 of the Constitution provides that when the President proceeds on vacation or is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, he shall 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 President as Acting President.

It further provides that where such a declaration is not transmitted within 21 days, the National Assembly shall, by a simple majority in each chamber, mandate the Vice-President to perform those functions.