Senate President Godswill Akpabio yesterday dismissed calls for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to hand over power to Vice President Kashim Shettima.
He said there was no leadership vacuum despite the President’s absence from the country.
The President, who began a 21-day working leave on August 30, on Monday extended the holiday period till the weekend.
Speaking in Ikot-Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State yesterday during the inauguration of GRA roads built by the Umo Eno Administration, Akpabio addressed criticisms of the President’s vacation by some opposition leaders such as Atiku Abubakar and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde.
The criticisms became louder when Vice President Kashim Shettima left on Sunday for New York, United States, where he is currently representing the President at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
Akpabio said: “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 asked.
He insisted that the President remained in office and continued to perform his constitutional duties while away.
“Right now, there is no vacancy. Asiwaju Tinubu is still in power, and he is still running the affairs of Nigeria,” he added.
To underscore the President’s continued engagement, Akpabio referred to his last week’s diplomatic contacts, including communications with French President Emmanuel Macron and International Industrialist Vincent Bolloré.
The Presidency had earlier said Tinubu remained in touch with developments at home and continued to direct the affairs of government while abroad.
The issue of whether power should formally be transmitted to the Vice President has generated renewed debate, with opposition figures questioning the constitutional basis for the current arrangement.
Also yesterday, the presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Seyi Makinde, said he would transmit power to his vice-president whenever he was away on leave if elected president.
Makinde spoke at the Northwest Consultative Meeting of his campaign organisation in Katsina, Katsina State, the home of his running mate, Lawal Daura, where he said his administration would seek to reset the political system and make the Federal Government more responsive to Nigerians.
He said the issue of Tinubu’s continued absence was a matter of concern to him.
“Finally, I promise you that this campaign will be issue-based. And this is why it is concerning to us, and to me personally, that our President is on working leave.
“I have looked at the Constitution, and of course, for me as a state governor, I also operate under that Constitution.
“Anytime I have to travel out, not working, or on vacation, for more than 21 days, I transmit power to the deputy governor.
“Why is this not happening at the national level?”
Makinde said Section 145 of the Constitution addressed the transmission of presidential powers when the President was unable to discharge the functions of his office.
“We are all human; anything can happen to anybody at any time. If that happens, he should transmit power to the Vice President.
“I promise you that as your president, I will follow the Constitution to the letter. If I am not going to be available, if I am on vacation, I will transmit power to the Vice President. Record this and hold me accountable,” he said.
Former Senate President Pius Anyim also defended Tinubu’s absence from UNGA, saying Shettima was capable of representing Nigeria.
“I really don’t understand why his (Tinubu’s) absence should be an issue. I think Nigerians know very well that the President is on short leave, a short vacation,” Anyim said on Arise News TV.
Both the Presidency and Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris said on Monday that Tinubu’s absence from the UNGA was not a setback for Nigeria.
Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim, said more than 60 per cent of presidents would not attend this year’s UNGA.
He said such leaders could be represented by their vice-presidents or foreign ministers.
Shettima, who has been attending sideline events at the ongoing UNGA, is scheduled to deliver Nigeria’s statement tomorrow.
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