Tinubu On Vacation, Shettima In India Who Runs Nigeria

Tinubu on Vacation, Shettima in India Who Runs Nigeria

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s three-week annual vacation abroad and Vice President Kashim Shettima’s official trip to India have triggered fresh questions over who exercises presidential authority when both principal occupants of Nigeria’s executive branch are outside the country. Tinubu began his three-week annual leave on August 30, initially travelling to London before proceeding to France, where he is continuing his vacation. Meanwhile, Shettima is in New Delhi representing the President at the 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit. The unusual coincidence has renewed public interest in Nigeria’s constitutional arrangements and whether the absence of both leaders creates a leadership vacuum. Questions have particularly centred on whether Senate President Godswill Akpabio could assume presidential powers while Tinubu and Shettima are both abroad. However, the 1999 Constitution, as amended, does not make physical presence in Nigeria a requirement for the President to exercise the powers of his office. The Constitution instead provides specific procedures for the temporary transfer of presidential functions and for succession when the offices of President or Vice President become vacant. Section 145 provides the framework for the temporary transfer of presidential functions when the President is proceeding on vacation or is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office. Under the provision, the President is expected to transmit a written declaration to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Once such a declaration is made, the Vice President performs the functions of the President as Acting President until the President communicates that he is ready to resume his duties. If the President fails to transmit the declaration within 21 days, the National Assembly may, by a simple majority in each chamber, resolve that the Vice President should perform the presidential functions as Acting President. The constitutional provisions distinguish between temporary absence and an actual vacancy in the offices of President and Vice President. Section 146 deals with succession where the offices become vacant through circumstances such as death, resignation, removal from office or permanent incapacity. The Vice President is constitutionally positioned to assume the presidency when the office of President becomes vacant. It is only when both the offices of President and Vice President are vacant that the President of the Senate enters the constitutional succession framework. Therefore, the simultaneous presence of Tinubu and Shettima outside Nigeria does not automatically make Akpabio Acting President. The Presidency has maintained that neither the President nor Vice President is required to be physically present in Nigeria at all times to discharge their constitutional responsibilities. Tinubu remains the substantive President while on his scheduled vacation, while Shettima is performing an official international assignment in India. The decisive constitutional issue is whether Tinubu has relinquished his functions or become unable to perform them in accordance with Section 145 not simply whether he is physically within Nigeria. The situation is also attracting heightened political attention as activities intensify ahead of the 2027 general elections. With both the President and Vice President temporarily outside the country, questions over executive authority are likely to continue generating public and political debate. Constitutionally, however, the current circumstances amount to simultaneous official travel rather than a succession crisis.