Senate President Godswill Akpabio has clarified that he remains President of the Senate and is not acting as Nigeria’s President while President Bola Tinubu is away on a working vacation in Europe.
Akpabio maintained that there was no vacancy in the presidency, insisting that Tinubu remained in charge of the affairs of the country despite his absence from Nigeria.
He made the clarification on Tuesday in Akwa Ibom State amid the absence of both Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima, who is in New York for the 81st United Nations General Assembly.
“I am the Senate President and not the acting President of Nigeria because President Tinubu is still in power. He’s on a working leave, and there’s no absence in Aso Rock,” Akpabio said.
He pointed to Tinubu’s recent engagement with French President Emmanuel Macron, saying the President had continued to perform his official responsibilities while abroad.
“He was with French President Macron the other day. I am the only person who can declare a vacancy and there will be vacancy. Right now, there is no vacancy,” he added.
Akpabio also argued that physical absence from Nigeria did not prevent the President from directing the affairs of the country, given modern communication technology.
“Asiwaju Tinubu is still in power, and he’s still running the affairs of Nigeria. The world is a global village, you can give instructions from the internet. So why are people complaining?” he asked.
Tinubu departed Nigeria on August 30 for London to begin his working vacation before travelling to Paris, where he met Macron and businessman Vincent Bolloré. The Presidency announced on Monday that he had extended the vacation by a few days and would return to Nigeria at the weekend.
Shettima, who had been representing Tinubu at some official functions, left Abuja on September 20 for New York to attend the UN General Assembly. The Presidency said Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, would continue to represent the President at official events while Shettima is away.
The simultaneous absence of the President and Vice-President has generated public debate over the exercise of presidential powers and the constitutional procedure for temporarily transferring presidential functions.
Akpabio, however, maintained that the circumstances did not amount to a vacancy in the presidency and that Tinubu remained in control of the Federal Government.