Some members of the House of Representatives under the Save Democracy Group have called on the National Assembly to reconvene over questions surrounding President Bola Tinubu’s extended stay outside Nigeria.
The lawmakers are seeking clarification on whether Tinubu transmitted the written declaration required by Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution regarding his absence from the country.
Tinubu left Nigeria on August 30 for London, where the Presidency described his trip as a working vacation, before travelling to Paris after spending about a week in the United Kingdom.
The Presidency announced on September 21 that the President had extended his working vacation by a few days and was expected to return to Nigeria at the weekend.
The development has prompted renewed discussion among lawmakers and other political actors about the constitutional arrangements governing presidential authority when the President is away from the country.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Save Democracy Group said the central question was whether Tinubu had formally notified the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives of his absence as contemplated under Section 145.
Section 145(1) provides that when 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 Speaker of the House of Representatives.
The provision further states that the Vice-President performs the functions of President as Acting President following such a declaration until the President communicates otherwise.
The lawmakers also referred to Section 145(2), which addresses a situation in which the President is unable or fails to transmit the required declaration within 21 days.
Under that provision, the National Assembly may, through a simple-majority resolution of each chamber, mandate the Vice-President to perform the functions of President as Acting President until the President communicates his availability to resume his duties.
The Save Democracy Group therefore asked Senate President Godswill Akpabio and House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas to publicly disclose whether the required declaration was received.
The lawmakers said that if the declaration had been transmitted, the leadership of both chambers should make that fact known to Nigerians.
However, they argued that if no declaration was transmitted within the stipulated period, the National Assembly should reconvene and consider the constitutional procedure provided under Section 145(2).
The group said the issue should not be determined solely by whether the President remained in contact with government officials or continued issuing directives while abroad.
It maintained that the relevant question was whether the constitutional procedure for the President’s absence had been followed.
The statement was signed on behalf of the group by Awaji-Inombek Abiante, representing Andoni/Opobo-Nkoro Federal Constituency of Rivers State, and Abubakar Yahaya, representing Kankia/Ingawa/Kusada Federal Constituency of Katsina State.
The call comes amid the absence of both Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima from Nigeria, with Shettima currently in New York representing the President at the 81st United Nations General Assembly.
The Presidency has maintained that Tinubu remains in contact with officials at home and continues to direct government affairs while abroad, while Shettima has been delegated to represent him at some official engagements.
Shettima travelled to New York on September 20 to participate in the UN General Assembly, where he is scheduled to deliver Nigeria’s national statement.
The constitutional debate has also attracted comments from other political figures and legal practitioners, with differing views being expressed about the implications of the President’s extended absence and the operation of Section 145.
The Save Democracy Group has now asked the National Assembly leadership to reconvene both chambers and establish the status of any declaration transmitted by the President.
The lawmakers further called for the relevant constitutional procedure to be followed if it is established that no declaration was transmitted within the 21-day period.
The National Assembly had earlier extended its annual recess by two weeks, with both chambers scheduled to resume plenary on September 29.