21 Days have come and gone, you are still on vacation, who is in charge of Nigeria – Atiku tackles Tinubu

Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has questioned the constitutional status of presidential authority in Nigeria following the expiration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s three-week annual leave.

Atiku, in a statement titled “Who is in Charge of Nigeria?”, said 21 days had elapsed since Tinubu left Nigeria on August 30 for what the Presidency described as a three-week annual vacation.

He asked the Presidency to clarify whether the President transmitted the written declaration required under Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives before leaving the country.

The Presidency had announced on August 30 that Tinubu was departing Abuja for Europe to begin a three-week vacation as part of his annual leave, with London as his first destination. It said the President was expected to return after the working vacation.

Atiku argued that Section 145(1) requires a President proceeding on vacation to transmit a written declaration to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House, after which the Vice President performs presidential functions as Acting President.

He further referred to Section 145(2), which provides that where the President is unable or fails to transmit the declaration within 21 days, the National Assembly shall, by simple-majority resolutions of both chambers, mandate the Vice President to perform the functions of the President as Acting President.

“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.

“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.”

Atiku said the matter should be treated as a constitutional issue rather than one of political convenience.

The former Vice President also raised concerns over the fact that Shettima was in New York representing Nigeria at the United Nations General Assembly.

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

Atiku argued that the country should not be governed on the basis of assumptions about the President’s activities while abroad.

“While President Tinubu has been abroad, 37 Nigerians died in NSCDC custody in Minna, an incident grave enough to trigger investigations, suspensions and demands for independent scrutiny,” he said.

He also cited rising petrol prices and the broader economic pressures facing Nigerians, including increased transportation costs, food expenses, electricity bills and rent.

“These are not ordinary times. Yet the President is abroad. The Vice President is abroad. The Senate President is abroad,” Atiku said.

He also referred to Tinubu’s reported private dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, arguing that diplomatic engagements should not substitute for clarity over the exercise of presidential authority.

“President Tinubu’s private dinner with President Emmanuel Macron in Paris may serve diplomatic purposes. But Nigeria itself cannot be placed on vacation,” he said.

Atiku maintained that the Constitution provides a procedure for dealing with a President’s temporary absence and argued that the procedure should be followed.

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

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

The ADC presidential candidate called on the Presidency to immediately disclose whether Tinubu transmitted the declaration contemplated by Section 145(1) before leaving the country.

He also urged the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to clarify whether such a communication was received.

“And if no declaration was transmitted within the constitutionally stipulated period, the National Assembly must explain why the procedure provided by Section 145(2) has not been activated,” he said.

Atiku said Nigerians deserved accountable and constitutionally grounded leadership amid economic hardship, rising energy costs and security challenges.

“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?”

The statement was signed by Atiku Abubakar in Abuja on September 21, 2026.

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