Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has questioned who is constitutionally exercising presidential powers in Nigeria following the expiration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s reported three-week vacation.
Atiku raised the issue in a statement titled “Who is in Charge of Nigeria?”, signed in Abuja on September 21, 2026.
Tinubu left Nigeria on August 30 for what the Presidency described as a three-week annual vacation, with London announced as his first destination.
Atiku questioned whether the President transmitted a written declaration to the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives as required under Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution.
According to Atiku, Section 145(1) provides that when the President is proceeding on vacation or is otherwise unable to discharge his functions, he should transmit a written declaration to the presiding officers of the National Assembly.
The declaration allows the Vice President to perform the functions of the President as Acting President.
Atiku also cited Section 145(2), which provides for action by the National Assembly if the President fails to transmit the required declaration within 21 days.
He said the Presidency should make the relevant constitutional communication public if it exists.
“The 21 days have now elapsed. If such a letter exists, the Presidency should publish it immediately,” Atiku said.
He further argued that if no declaration was transmitted, the National Assembly should explain why the constitutional procedure under Section 145(2) had not been activated.
Atiku said the issue should be treated as a constitutional matter rather than a political disagreement.
He also questioned the situation because Vice President Kashim Shettima was reportedly 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?” Atiku asked.
The ADC candidate also cited recent national challenges, including the deaths of 37 Nigerians in NSCDC custody in Minna, rising petrol prices and increasing costs of transportation, food, electricity and rent.
“These are not ordinary times. Yet the President is abroad. The Vice President is abroad. The Senate President is abroad,” he said.
Atiku also referred to Tinubu’s reported private dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris.
He said diplomatic engagements should not replace constitutional clarity over the exercise of presidential authority.
“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 called on the Presidency to disclose whether Tinubu transmitted the required declaration before leaving Nigeria.
He also urged the Senate President and Speaker of the House to clarify whether they received such a communication.
Atiku said Nigerians deserved accountable and constitutionally grounded leadership amid economic difficulties, security concerns and rising living costs.
“Nigeria is bigger than any President,” he said.
“The question will not disappear: Who, constitutionally, is in charge of Nigeria?”
