Akpabio Rules Out Power Handover to Shettima, Insists ‘No Vacancy’ as Tinubu’s Leave Extends
Senate President Godswill Akpabio has moved to quash growing public debate over President Bola Tinubu’s extended absence from Nigeria, insisting there is no vacancy in the presidency and firmly ruling out any formal transfer of power to Vice President Kashim Shettima.
Speaking on Tuesday, September 22, in Akwa Ibom State, where he attended the commissioning of road projects delivered under Governor Umo Eno, Akpabio addressed mounting questions over who is effectively running the country given the simultaneous absence of both Tinubu and Shettima from Nigeria. “I am the Senate President, and I am not the acting President of Nigeria, because President Tinubu is still in power. He is on a working leave, and there is no absence in Aso Rock. The world is a global village, and one can give instructions over the internet,” Akpabio said.
Tinubu departed Nigeria on August 30 for what the Presidency described as a three-week working vacation, since extended by several additional days, with the president currently in France and expected back in Nigeria at the weekend, according to the Presidency. The debate over his absence intensified further after Shettima travelled to New York on September 20 to represent Nigeria at the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, leaving both of the country’s principal executive office holders outside Nigeria at the same time.
Akpabio maintained that the authority to formally declare a presidential vacancy rests solely with his office as Senate President, and stressed that no such declaration had been made or was currently warranted. “Right now, there is no vacancy. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is still in power, and he is still running the affairs of Nigeria,” he said. To support his position, Akpabio pointed to Tinubu’s continued diplomatic engagements while abroad, including a recent meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, which he cited as evidence that the president remained actively involved in government business despite his physical distance from the country. The Presidency had separately said on Monday that Tinubu remained in regular contact with officials at home and continued to direct government affairs from Europe, adding that Shettima had been delegated to represent him at some official functions, with Secretary to the Government of the Federation George Akume covering other engagements following the Vice President’s departure for the UN General Assembly.
The extended absence has drawn criticism from opposition figures, with African Democratic Congress (ADC) spokesperson Bolaji Abdullahi describing the situation as a dangerous disregard for the constitution. The controversy has centred in part on Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution, which sets out the process by which a president must formally transmit a written declaration before a vice president can assume presidential functions in an acting capacity, with critics arguing the current circumstances warrant clarification from the National Assembly on whether that provision’s requirements have been met.
Not all reaction to the extended absence has been critical. Former Senate President Pius Anyim defended the arrangement, telling Arise News TV that he did not understand why Tinubu’s absence from the UN General Assembly should be treated as an issue, noting that Nigerians were well aware the president was on a short vacation and that Shettima remained capable of representing the country in his stead. The Presidency and Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris also both maintained on Monday that Tinubu’s absence from the UN General Assembly did not represent a setback for Nigeria.
With Tinubu expected to return to Nigeria in the coming days, the debate over the constitutional handling of his extended leave appears set to continue in the interim, even as Akpabio and other government figures maintain there has been no lapse in presidential authority throughout the president’s time abroad.
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