Why National Assembly should sack Tinubu over vacation extension — Sowore

Abdullateef Fowewe

Activist and African Action Congress (AAC) 2027 presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has urged Nigeria’s National Assembly to immediately activate Section 145(2) of the 1999 Constitution and mandate Vice President Kashim Shettima to serve as Acting President.

In a statement on Tuesday, Sowore argued that President Bola Tinubu’s continued absence abroad has exceeded the 21-day constitutional threshold without a formal transfer of power.

“TINUBU’S FAILURE TO OFFICIALLY HAND OVER POWER AFTER 21 DAYS: NATIONAL ASSEMBLY MUST ACT TO REMOVE HIM NOW UNDER SECTION 145 OF THE NIGERIAN CONSTITUTION,” the statement began.

Sowore noted that Tinubu left Nigeria on August 30, 2026, for a three-week vacation.

“That 21-day period has expired. Instead of returning, as announced, the Presidency stated on September 21 that Tinubu had extended his vacation abroad by ‘a few days.’”

He insisted that Section 145 is clear: the president must transmit a written declaration to the Senate President and Speaker of the House when proceeding on vacation, allowing the vice president to act in his place.

Where no such declaration is transmitted within 21 days, the National Assembly “shall, by simple majority in each House, mandate the Vice-President to perform those functions.”

“As of today, no Section 145 declaration transferring presidential functions to Vice-President Kashim Shettima has been publicly established.

“The Presidency cannot invent a ‘working vacation’ exception that does not appear in the Constitution. Nigeria can’t be governed by press releases, telephone calls, or constitutional improvisation,” Sowore had written.

He called on Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House Abbas Tajudeen to confirm whether they received the required declaration.

“If they did not, the 21-day threshold has passed, and the National Assembly must begin the process. This is no longer about Tinubu’s vacation. It is about whether Nigeria will be governed according to its Constitution,” he noted.

President Tinubu departed Nigeria on August 30 for what the Presidency described as a working vacation, beginning in London before moving to Paris, where he met French President Emmanuel Macron. On September 21, presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga announced that the president had extended his stay by a few days and would return over the weekend.

The Presidency maintained that Tinubu has continued to direct national affairs from abroad and had delegated some functions to Vice President Shettima.

Shettima himself left Nigeria on September 20 to lead the country’s delegation to the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The issue has drawn similar criticism from other opposition figures.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar questioned who is constitutionally in charge of Nigeria, noting that no public letter transferring authority under Section 145 had been shown.

Human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong also described the simultaneous absence of both the president and vice president without formal handover as a violation of the Constitution and called for the National Assembly to act.

Constitution requires the president, when proceeding on vacation or otherwise unable to discharge the functions of office, to transmit a written declaration to the leadership of the National Assembly.

The vice president then acts as president until a further declaration is made.

If the president fails to transmit the declaration within 21 days, the National Assembly may, by simple majority in each chamber, mandate the vice president to perform those functions.