African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has called on the National Assembly to immediately begin the constitutional process under Section 145(2) of the 1999 Constitution to mandate Vice-President Kashim Shettima to act as President, following what he described as President Bola Tinubu’s failure to hand over power after more than 21 days abroad.
In a statement shared on his XSpace handle on Monday, Sowore noted that Tinubu left Nigeria on August 30, 2026, for a three-week vacation, and that the Presidency announced on September 21 that he had extended his stay abroad by a few days.
Citing the constitutional provision, Sowore argued that Section 145 requires the President, whenever he proceeds on vacation, to transmit a written declaration to the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, enabling the Vice-President to perform presidential functions as Acting President.
He said that where the President fails to do so within 21 days, Section 145(2) empowers the National Assembly to mandate the Vice-President to assume those functions by simple majority vote in each chamber.
Sowore said there had been no public confirmation that a declaration under Section 145(1) transferring presidential functions to Shettima had been transmitted.
He therefore called on Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker Tajudeen Abbas to clarify whether they had received the declaration required under the Constitution.
Sowore also rejected the Presidency’s description of Tinubu’s stay abroad as a “working vacation,” arguing that the Constitution did not provide such an exception, and said the Presidency’s claim that Tinubu continued to direct the affairs of government from abroad did not resolve what he described as the constitutional question surrounding the President’s absence.
The Presidency has pushed back on such claims. Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, said in a post on X that the President’s authority is not restricted by geography, maintaining that Tinubu can continue to govern Nigeria while outside the country.
Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said Tinubu departed Nigeria on August 30 for London and later travelled to Paris, where he met French President Emmanuel Macron, and added that Tinubu was expected to return to Nigeria at the weekend.
Sowore’s comments add to a growing chorus of criticism from opposition figures. Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has similarly demanded that the Presidency clarify who is constitutionally exercising presidential authority, questioning whether Tinubu transmitted the required declaration before proceeding on vacation and noting that Vice-President Shettima is currently in New York representing Nigeria at the UN General Assembly.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has also criticised the simultaneous absence of both Tinubu and Shettima from the country, describing it as a disregard for the Constitution.
Human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong has separately argued that Tinubu’s absence without a formal power transfer amounts to a constitutional breach.
