PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu will return to Nigeria on Sunday after an extended working vacation in Europe, sources familiar with his itinerary say.
News Point Nigeria reports that sources in the Presidency said Tinubu is expected to return to Lagos and remain there for up to a week before heading to Abuja.
Tinubu left Nigeria for London on August 30, with the Presidency describing the trip as a three-week working vacation as part of his annual leave. He subsequently travelled to Paris, France, after spending about a week in the United Kingdom.
On September 21, the Presidency announced that Tinubu had extended his stay abroad by a few days and would return to Nigeria at the weekend.
The Presidency said the Commander-in-Chief had remained in touch with officials at home and continued to direct government affairs while abroad. It also said Vice-President Kashim Shettima had been delegated to represent Tinubu at some official functions during his absence.
Tinubu’s absence has since sparked a constitutional debate, with questions raised about the implications of the President remaining outside the country for more than 21 days without publicly transferring presidential powers to Vice-President Kashim Shettima.
On Wednesday, some members of the House of Representatives under the aegis of the Save Democracy Group asked the National Assembly to reconvene from its annual recess to determine whether Tinubu complied with the constitutional requirement concerning his absence from Nigeria.
The lawmakers urged the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives to publicly disclose whether Tinubu transmitted the written declaration required under Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution.
Section 145(1) provides that whenever the President proceeds on vacation or is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, he is to transmit a written declaration to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, after which the Vice-President performs the functions of President in an acting capacity.
Section 145(2) further provides that if the President is unable or fails to transmit the written declaration within 21 days, the National Assembly may, by a resolution of a simple majority of each chamber, mandate the Vice-President to perform the functions of the President as Acting President.
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party led by Kabiru Turaki, and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) have separately questioned Tinubu’s extended vacation and sought clarification on the exercise of presidential powers during his absence.
The ADC has specifically questioned whether the constitutional requirement under Section 145 was met, while the Presidency has maintained that Tinubu remained in touch with developments at home and continued to direct government affairs from abroad.
On Tuesday, Senate President Godswill Akpabio said there was no vacancy in Aso Rock, noting that Tinubu remained in charge of the country’s affairs despite being on vacation abroad.
The Senate President said Tinubu’s absence from the country should not be interpreted as a transfer of power or presidential vacancy.
“I am not the acting president, because the president is still in power. The president is on a working leave. So, there’s no absence in Aso Rock,” Akpabio said, insisting that Tinubu continued to direct the affairs of the country from abroad.
Meanwhile, Shettima travelled to New York on September 20 to represent Tinubu at the 81st United Nations General Assembly. The Presidency said Tinubu had mandated the Vice-President to lead Nigeria’s delegation and present the country’s national statement at the global gathering.