Atiku, Obi, ADC, others Question Tinubu’s Extended Holidays, Want Clarity on Status

With speculations doing the rounds about President Bola Tinubu’s alleged extension of his holidays, opposition leaders have fully taken up the matter, alleging constitutional breaches.

Presidential candidate of African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubukar, while querying the extended holidays of the president, said Nigerians had a right to know his whereabouts.

The presidential candidate of Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Peter Obi, also expressed concern over the president’s continued absence from Nigeria and the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Similarly, ADC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) demanded an explanation from the presidency over Tinubu’s continued absence from the country, six days after the expiration of his originally announced three-week vacation.

Atiku, in a statement by his Media Aide, Paul Ibe, said, “President Bola Tinubu @officialABAT left Nigeria on 30 August for what the presidency described as a three-week annual vacation.

“That period expired days ago. His return was subsequently extended, and reports today indicate that his expected return today has been postponed yet again.

“The obvious question is: what exactly is keeping the President of Nigeria in Paris? President Emmanuel Macron @EmmanuelMacron has attended to France’s international engagements and returned home, yet Nigeria’s president remains in France while his country confronts serious security, economic and cost-of-living challenges.”

Atiku, who raised the constitutional implications of Tinubu’s continued absence, said, “More importantly, there is a constitutional question that cannot simply be wished away.

“Section 145(1) of the Constitution requires a President proceeding on vacation beyond 21 days to transmit a written declaration to the President of the Senate @SPNigeria and Speaker of the House of Representatives @Speaker_Abbas, enabling the Vice President @officialSKSM to perform presidential functions as Acting President.

“Section 145(2) goes further: if the president fails to transmit that declaration within 21 days, the National Assembly shall, by a simple majority of each House, mandate the Vice President to perform the functions of President.

“President Tinubu has now been away for 28 days, 7 days longer than 21 days. So, where is the letter? If it was transmitted, let the Presidency, Senate President or Speaker publish it.

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“If no letter was transmitted, Nigerians deserve to know why the constitutional procedure has not been followed. We do not want to believe insinuations that the inner circle of Tinubu are scared of Shettima being handed the Acting President authority.”

Atiku added, “Former President Muhammadu Buhari transferred presidential functions to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on five occasions during his tenure, including through formal Section 145 communications to the National Assembly.

“There is also speculation that President Tinubu is in France for medical reasons. That is precisely why the presidency should provide a clear explanation.

“Nigerians are entitled to know why their President has remained abroad beyond his announced vacation and, above all, whether the Constitution has been complied with.

“The constitution is not optional. And Nigeria cannot be placed on indefinite vacation while Tinubu plays absentee president.”

Obi: Where Is Nigeria’s President?

Obi equally questioned the whereabouts of Tinubu, expressing concern over the president’s continued absence from Nigeria and his non-attendance at the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Obi, raised the issues on Sunday in a post on his X handle, shortly after watching the address delivered by Ghanaian President, John Dramani Mahama, at the ongoing UN General Assembly.

The former governor of Anambra State, asked, “Where is Nigeria’s President?”

Obi said Nigeria, as Africa’s most populous country, should have its president participating directly in major international engagements, particularly at a time when the country was facing significant domestic and international challenges.

He stated, “Here is the remarkable address delivered by Ghana’s dynamic President, John Dramani Mahama, at the 81st UNGA.

“As the international community commends this distinguished leader, many are asking: Where is the President of Africa’s most populous nation, a country of more than 200 million people, more than Ghana, whose leader has been absent from the global stage for three consecutive UNGAs?”

He added that Tinubu “ought to be representing and guiding the continent at the international level,” but had not attended the last three UN General Assembly gatherings”.

Obi said, “Nigeria’s President, who ought to be representing and guiding the continent at the international level, has not attended any of these three global gatherings.

“Where is he, particularly at a time when the country faces significant challenges both domestically and internationally?”

Obi acknowledged that Vice President Kashim Shettima attended the current UNGA, but said the vice president’s presence did not resolve the question of the president’s absence.

“Although our Vice President, Kashim Shettima, was present, the question remains: where is the president?” he stated.

The NDC candidate called for prayers for Tinubu’s return and his leadership, while reiterating his  political message that a “New Nigeria” was possible.

Obi promised not to travel overseas to spend his vacation if elected Nigeria’s president in 2027.

Separately, at the inauguration of the NDC campaign office in Asaba, Obi criticised the situation where elected and appointed political office holders in the country went on holidays outside the shores of Nigeria or engaged in medical tourism in European countries.

He appealed to Nigerians to rally behind him and NDC in the effort to reset Nigeria for better performance domestically and among the comity of nations by him and his party into power in the 2027 general election.

Obi, in company with his presidential running mate, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, and NDC’s governorship candidate in Delta State, Deacon Chris Iyovwaye, and other party leaders, received a rousing welcome amid chants of “Obi will reset Nigeria! Peter for President!”

Addressing thousands of party members and supporters who came to welcome him, Obi stated that his economic transformation agenda was aimed at improving the lives of Nigerians, rather than producing statistical figures that existed only on paper and counting for mere academic exercise.

Meanwhile, NDC National Leader, Senator Seriake Dickson, continued to mobilise support for the party and its presidential candidate ahead of the 2027 general election.

In London on Saturday, according to a statement by NDC-UK Media Office, the NDC United Kingdom Chapter leadership met with Dickson at the London Park Lane Hilton Hotel and reaffirmed its commitment to the growth and expansion of the party.

The meeting brought together members of the NDC-UK executive committee, party supporters, and representatives of the Nigerian community from across Great Britain and Ireland.

Dickson, a former governor of Bayelsa State, briefed the participants on developments within the party, its progress since its formation, and preparations for the 2027 elections.

The NDC-UK Country Chairman, Princewill Urum, expressed the chapter’s commitment to advancing the objectives and programmes of the party.

Equally at the meeting was the leader of Coalition for the Protection of Democracy (COPDEM), a Nigerian and global political network, which expressed support for initiatives aimed at strengthening democratic participation and promoting credible elections in Nigeria.

Dickson, according to the NDC-UK statement, expressed confidence in the party’s leadership and presidential ticket, while urging institutions and officials responsible for conducting elections to uphold integrity, fairness, responsibility, and patriotism.

He also disclosed that he would return to the United Kingdom later this year with Obi, Kwankwaso, and other senior party officials for the formal launch of NDC-UK Chapter.

The development came amid continuing efforts by the NDC leadership to consolidate its structure ahead of the 2027 elections.

The party recently announced plans to inaugurate its Presidential Campaign Council, with Obi and Kwankwaso authorised to nominate principal officers for several strategic positions.

ADC Demands Explanation over Tinubu’s Extended Absence from Nigeria

ADC’s Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), demanded an explanation from the presidency over Tinubu’s continued absence, six days after the expiration of his originally announced three-week vacation.

In a statement by its Director, Media and Publicity, Kola Ologbondiyan, ADC PCC said the president had yet to return to the country as of Sunday, September 27, after the vacation scheduled to end on September 21.

It stated, “The country cannot afford uncertainty at the highest level of government.

“The ADC therefore calls on the presidency to immediately come clean with Nigerians and provide clear, verifiable information on the president’s current location, the reason for the prolonged absence and the constitutional arrangements governing the administration of the country during this period.

““The presidency owes Nigerians a clear and transparent explanation. The continued absence of the President, without sufficient public information on his whereabouts or the circumstances surrounding the extension of his stay abroad, has inevitably generated questions and public concern.”

ADC stated that the president’s position as the country’s chief executive made information about his prolonged absence a matter of public interest, particularly against the backdrop of economic difficulties and security challenges confronting the country.

The party stated, “The office of the President is a public trust. Nigerians who elected President Tinubu are entitled to know where their President is and, more importantly, who is exercising presidential authority while he remains outside the country.

“This is particularly important at a time when Nigeria is confronted by serious economic pressures, widespread hardship and persistent security challenges. The country cannot afford uncertainty at the highest level of government.”

ADC also asked the presidency to clarify the constitutional basis for the current arrangement, particularly given that the president’s absence had extended beyond the period earlier communicated to Nigerians.

It said the presidency should immediately come clean with Nigerians and provide clear, verifiable information on the president’s current location, the reason for the prolonged absence, and the constitutional arrangements governing the administration of the country during this period.

 “The presidency must also clarify the status of the president’s vacation and explain the constitutional basis for the current arrangement, particularly where the president remains away from the country beyond the period earlier communicated to Nigerians,” it stated.

The party questioned the reported extension of Tinubu’s vacation and the directive for the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, to continue to represent the president at official engagements.

According to ADC, while the presidency can offer administrative explanations for the arrangement, such explanations do not address the central constitutional question arising from the president’s continued absence.

“Who is constitutionally and effectively in charge of the affairs of the Federal Republic of Nigeria while the president remains away?” it asked.

Presidency: Tinubu is Hale and Hearty

Responding to the barrage of questions, the presidency, last night, said Tinubu was hale and hearty.

Presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, in response to enquiries by THISDAY, declared that the president was in good health and on working vacation, citing his weekend’s meeting with investors in France.

Onanuga stressed that in the present digital age, Tinubu did not need to be in Abuja to carry out the executive functions for which he was elected for in 2023.

He stated, “Nigeria’s President is hale and hearty. He has been on a working vacation, which he is perfectly entitled to. In this digital age, he does not need to be physically present in Abuja to do the work for which he was elected in 2023.

“And we have seen that he has, indeed, been working, meeting investors in France, most recently facilitating a $7 billion deep-sea port in Ogun Waterside, an initiative of the Ogun State Government.”

Onanuga said the Nigerian president announced he was taking his annual vacation and delegated attendance to the vice president.

“Yet Peter Obi pretends to be unaware of President Tinubu’s whereabouts and asks the puerile question his followers are asking on X,” Onanuga stated.

Onanuga further explained that apart from the Nigerian president, two other African leaders – South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa and Egypt’s Abdel el-Sisi, did not attend this year’s United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. He claimed crisis did not occur in Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Egypt over their presidents’ absence.

Onanuga stated, “Two other important African leaders were not in New York for the UNGA: South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa and Egypt’s Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Ramaphosa booked himself off public engagements. Johannesburg and Pretoria made no uproar over Ramaphosa’s absence at UNGA. And Egypt did not erupt that Sisi did not go to New York.”

The presidential aide assured that Tinubu would be back to Nigeria and be part of the country’s 66th independence anniversary and premiere of a movie in honour of MKO Abiola in Lagos.

“President Tinubu will return home this week to mark Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary and honour MKO Abiola, the martyr of the democracy we enjoy today, by attending the premiere of a movie in MKO’s memory in Lagos,” he said.