“Representation Is Not Governance” — ADC Questions Tinubu’s Absence

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has questioned the constitutional implications of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s continued absence from Nigeria, with the party asking who is currently exercising the constitutional powers of the President.

In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said Tinubu left Nigeria on August 30 and has now spent more than 21 days outside the country.

Abdullahi said the situation raises questions about Section 145 of the Constitution, particularly whether the President transmitted the required written declaration to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

The ADC also challenged the explanation that Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, could represent the President at official functions while Tinubu remains abroad.

“Representation is not governance. Attendance at official functions is not presidential authority,” Abdullahi said.

The party argued that while the SGF could attend events or deliver speeches on behalf of the President, such representation does not confer on him the constitutional powers of the President or Acting President.

The ADC further rejected the description of Tinubu’s stay abroad as a “working vacation”, saying the expression does not remove the President’s constitutional obligations under Section 145.

“There is no constitutional category known as a ‘working vacation’. Presidential authority cannot be transferred by convenience, protocol or press statement,” the party said.

The opposition party also questioned the simultaneous absence of Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima, who is also outside the country, amid what it described as challenges facing Nigerians.

The ADC further criticised Tinubu’s presence in Paris while French President Emmanuel Macron was in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, describing the situation as a “national disgrace.”

The party concluded by asking the Presidency and the National Assembly to provide a direct answer to what it described as a central constitutional question:

“Who presently exercises the constitutional powers of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and under what provision of the Constitution?”