Senate President Godswill Akpabio has dismissed calls for President Bola Tinubu to formally hand over power to Vice President Kashim Shettima, insisting that there is no leadership vacuum in the country despite the President’s continued absence from Nigeria.
Akpabio spoke on Tuesday in Ikot-Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, while responding to concerns over Tinubu’s extended working vacation abroad.
Tinubu left Nigeria on August 30 for a three-week working vacation, which the Presidency later extended by a few days. Shettima is currently in New York representing Nigeria at the United Nations General Assembly.
Akpabio said Tinubu remained in office and continued to direct the affairs of government despite being outside the country.
“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. So, why are people complaining?” he said.
The Senate President also pointed to Tinubu’s recent diplomatic engagements, including his communication with French President Emmanuel Macron, as evidence that the President remained involved in government affairs.
“Right now, there is no vacancy. Asiwaju Tinubu is still in power, and he is still running the affairs of Nigeria,” Akpabio added.
The issue has generated renewed debate after both Tinubu and Shettima were outside Nigeria at the same time.
Critics, including opposition figures, have questioned whether presidential powers should have been formally transferred to the Vice President under Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution.
However, Akpabio rejected the argument that the situation amounted to a vacancy in the presidency.
Meanwhile, Oyo State Governor and Allied Peoples Movement presidential candidate, Seyi Makinde, said he would transmit power to his vice-president whenever he was away on vacation if elected president in 2027.
Speaking at an APM North-West consultative meeting in Katsina, Makinde said he routinely transmitted power to his deputy when travelling outside the state for extended periods.
He argued that the same principle should apply at the federal level and pledged to comply with the Constitution if elected.
Former Senate President Pius Anyim also defended Tinubu’s absence from the UN General Assembly, saying Shettima was capable of representing the President.
The Presidency has maintained that Tinubu remains in touch with developments in Nigeria and continues to direct government affairs while abroad.
Shettima is scheduled to deliver Nigeria’s statement at the ongoing UN General Assembly in New York.