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The Presidency has rubbished questions over who is currently in charge of Nigeria, insisting that President Bola Tinubu can continue to exercise his constitutional powers from anywhere in the world.

Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communication, made the position known in a post on X on Monday while responding to questions raised by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi over the President’s absence from the country.

Tinubu is currently in Europe after extending his working vacation, while Vice President Kashim Shettima is in New York representing Nigeria at the 81st United Nations General Assembly. The State House said Tinubu is expected to return to Nigeria at the weekend.

Bwala argued that the President’s ability to govern is not dependent on his physical location, saying his constitutional responsibilities can be exercised even while he is outside Nigeria.

“It is funny how opposition candidates are asking the question who is in charge of Nigeria simply because the President and Vice President are out of the country,” Bwala said.

He added that, as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, the President could issue orders, give directives, delegate responsibilities and exercise his constitutional functions while abroad.

Bwala also challenged Atiku and Obi to explain what he described as a clear alternative to the Tinubu administration, accusing them of relying on what he called “populist rhetoric.”

His comments came amid renewed debate over the constitutional implications of Tinubu’s prolonged absence from Nigeria.

Atiku had questioned whether Tinubu transmitted a written declaration to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives under Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution before proceeding on vacation.

Section 145 provides for a written declaration when the President proceeds on vacation or is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office. It also provides for the Vice-President to perform the functions of President as Acting President in the circumstances specified by the Constitution.

The Presidency, however, maintains that Tinubu has remained engaged in the affairs of government while abroad. The State House said the President has continued to communicate with officials and direct government business, citing his order for an independent investigation into the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in Niger State as one of the decisions taken during his absence.

The development has placed renewed focus on the constitutional distinction between a President exercising his powers while abroad and the circumstances under which the Section 145 procedure applies.

For now, the Presidency maintains that Tinubu remains in charge of the government despite his absence from Nigeria, while opposition figures continue to question the constitutional arrangements surrounding his extended stay abroad.

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The Anambra State Government has challenged former governor Peter Obi to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race, alleging that he failed to keep past promises concerning the state’s debt profile and the payment of workers’ salaries.

The government made the challenge on Tuesday in a post on its official X account, citing statements allegedly made by Obi during his tenure as governor of Anambra State.

According to the state government, Obi had previously pledged to quit the presidential contest if it could be established that he left Anambra with outstanding debts. It also alleged that he had promised to resign as governor if workers’ salaries were not paid as and when due.

The government argued that both conditions were not met, claiming that Obi left office in 2014 with outstanding salary arrears.

“Obi vowed to quit the presidential race if proven he left Anambra in debt. As governor, he vowed to resign if workers weren’t paid on time. He broke both. He left office in 2014 with heavier arrears,” the government stated.

To support its claim, the state government published a letter dated April 25, 2006, purportedly signed by Chuks Iloegbunam, who was then Obi’s Chief of Staff.

The letter, titled “Gubernatorial Prerogative,” contained what it described as a special appeal to the governor to address salary arrears owed to workers of the Anambra State Water Corporation.

The document stated that workers of the corporation had not received their salaries since February, while its monthly wage bill was estimated at about N15 million.

The letter appealed to Obi to include the Water Corporation among government agencies whose workers were paid through regular government subventions, arguing that such an arrangement would prevent repeated visits to the governor’s office over unpaid salaries.

“Since it is Your Excellency’s unchanging desire to achieve a better future for our children and children’s children, please, Sir, bear in mind that officials of the Water Corporation also have children who are looking to your compassionate leadership,” the letter stated.

It further appealed to the governor to ensure that the workers were paid regularly, noting that the corporation’s monthly salary requirement was about N15 million.

“Because you have a very busy schedule, I appeal to you to please include the Water Corporation in the league of Government parastatals that are paid through subventions. In this way, the workers will not come to Your Excellency’s office every month to distract your attention on account of unpaid salaries,” the letter added.

The latest exchange comes as political activity intensifies ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with Obi expected to remain one of the prominent figures in the emerging opposition political realignment.

Obi, who served as Anambra governor from 2006 to 2013, returned to the national political spotlight after contesting the 2023 presidential election on the Labour Party platform. He has since been associated with efforts to build a broader political coalition ahead of the 2027 election.

The Anambra government’s latest claim centres on Obi’s record while in office and his previously reported statements on debt and workers’ welfare.

However, the document released by the state government specifically concerns salary arrears owed to Water Corporation workers in 2006. The document, by itself, does not establish the total salary arrears allegedly outstanding when Obi left office in 2014.

Obi and his political camp would have to respond to the state government’s latest allegations for their position on the document and the broader claims to be established.

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The All Progressives Congress and the All Progressives Grand Alliance are at loggerheads over the “progressives working together” mantra associated with the Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo.

The phrase has become a recurring political theme in Anambra State, with Soludo presenting cooperation between APGA and the APC at the federal level as part of a broader progressive agenda.

However, the Deputy National Chairman of the APC (South), Ben Nwoye, has rejected the claim that progressive forces are working together ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Nwoye urged APC supporters not to be deceived by APGA’s “progressives are working together” slogan, describing the claim as a fallacy.

He spoke at an Anambra Central senatorial district stakeholders’ meeting with local government and ward officials at the Uche Ekwunife Centre in Awka at the weekend.

“We urged our supporters not to be deceived by the APGA’s slogan of ‘Progressives are working together’. It is a fallacy, and we reject it because it is aimed at deceiving the President and our supporters,” he said.

Nwoye said the APC would work towards securing victory for its candidates in the 2027 elections, including President Bola Tinubu.

The APC senatorial candidate for Anambra Central, Uche Ekwunife, said she and other party members were committed to securing support for the President and APC candidates in the state.

Ekwunife, who is also the South-East Zonal Director of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, said her interest and that of other APC candidates was to ensure the party performed strongly at the presidential, National Assembly and state assembly elections.

She urged APC supporters to reject APGA’s “progressives are working together” narrative and support Tinubu and other APC candidates.

“We must not be deceived by the All Progressives Grand Alliance slogan of ‘Progressives are working together in Anambra’. We must vote for Tinubu to enable him to complete the developmental projects he has started in the South-East region,” she said.

Ekwunife urged party members to remain committed and work for the success of the APC in the state.

However, when contacted on Sunday, the APGA Publicity Secretary, Ejimofor Opara, rejected the APC’s position and maintained that the “progressives are working together” position remained valid.

Opara said APGA was not deceiving anyone and pointed to the party’s adoption of Tinubu as its presidential candidate for the 2027 election.

“We can tell them for free that in APGA, we are not deceptive. We are not people who don’t say or who don’t mean what they say. We say what we mean, and we mean what we say. That we have adopted President Bola Tinubu is enough proof, and let them wait to see the outcome,” he said.

He argued that APGA’s support for Tinubu had contributed to the President’s political standing in Anambra and the South-East.

Opara said the party remained committed to working with the President while retaining its identity and political interests in the state.

“So, for us, progressives will work together. The focus and the goal are to ensure that President Bola Tinubu is returned as the President of Nigeria come January 16, 2027,” he said.