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The African Democratic Congress (ADC) says it is a “national disgrace” for President Bola Tinubu to be vacationing in France while President Emmanuel Macron is in New York attending the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

Tinubu, who is currently on annual vacation in Europe, had delegated Vice-President Kashim Shettima to attend the global event.

This is the third consecutive time that Shettima would stand in for the president, a development that has triggered reactions, especially from opposition voices.

In a statement, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, said, “The irony would be amusing if it were not a national disgrace. At a time when world leaders are advancing their countries’ interests at the United Nations General Assembly, Nigeria’s President is holed up in the French capital while his host has left to pursue his own country’s national interest.

“President Tinubu cannot be vacationing in Paris while President Macron is in New York representing France and expect Nigerians to accept that it is okay for their President to continue to hang around in a country after the host has left to attend to more important things. This is not merely poor optics. It is a national embarrassment.”

He described the continued absence of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, while Vice-President Kashim Shettima is outside Nigeria, as a “dangerous disregard for the Constitution.”

The ADC spokesman said it was particularly troubling that the President and Vice-President were simultaneously absent while Nigerians confronted worsening insecurity, unemployment and an unbearable cost-of-living crisis.

Abdullahi called on the Presidency and the National Assembly to provide a direct answer to one question: “Who presently exercises the constitutional powers of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and under what provision of the Constitution?”

He said Section 145 of the Constitution requires the President, when proceeding on vacation for a period of up to 21 days, to transmit a written declaration to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, after which the Vice-President performs the functions of Acting President.

Abdullahi said, “President Tinubu left Nigeria on 30 August and has now been away for more than 21 days. We therefore demand to know whether the required declaration was transmitted by the President. If he did not, we would like to know why the National Assembly has ignored Section 145 of the Constitution.”

He also rejected the Presidency’s explanation that the President was on a “working vacation” or that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, would represent President Tinubu at official events, dismissing it as “an absurdity that raises more questions than it answers.

“Representing the President at events and ceremonies does not confer constitutional powers. The Secretary to the Government of the Federation is a mere appointee of the President. He may attend events or deliver speeches on the President’s behalf, but he cannot exercise the constitutional powers of the President or Acting President,” he said.

“Representation is not governance. Attendance at official functions is not presidential authority. Nigeria cannot be governed through ceremonial proxies, telephone calls and press statements issued from foreign capitals.”

He added that the claim that the President has continued to direct national affairs from abroad only “compounds the absurdity”, saying that a so-called “working vacation” does not remove the President’s constitutional obligations under Section 145.

“There is no constitutional category known as a ‘working vacation’. Presidential authority cannot be transferred by convenience, protocol or press statement. Nigeria is a constitutional democracy, not a private enterprise to be managed remotely from a holiday destination.”

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Former Kano State Governor and National Democratic Congress (NDC) vice-presidential candidate Rabiu Kwankwaso has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s decision to remove the petrol subsidy, saying the policy plunged Nigeria into what he described as a “total mess economically.”

Kwankwaso, who is the running mate to the NDC presidential candidate Peter Obi ahead of the 2027 general elections, said an NDC administration would restore fuel subsidy in a different form and take measures to reduce the price of petrol for Nigerians.

He made the remarks in an interview with ARISE correspondent Adesuwa Giwa-Osagie while discussing the economic consequences of the Tinubu administration’s policies and the NDC’s proposed alternative ahead of the 2027 elections.

The removal of the petrol subsidy, announced by President Tinubu in his inaugural address on May 29, 2023, has remained one of the most consequential and controversial economic policies of his administration, with its effects continuing to dominate political and economic debates in the country.

Kwankwaso said that during the 2023 presidential campaign, the three leading presidential candidates, Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, had all spoken about removing the subsidy, although he recalled that Atiku had also proposed selling the country’s four refineries.

“In 2023, during the campaigns, I remember the three of them, all of them said they will remove subsidy. In fact, before then, Atiku even added that he would sell all the four refineries to his friends,” Kwankwaso said.

He, however, singled out Tinubu for implementing the policy immediately after assuming office, arguing that the administration failed to adequately consider the possible consequences before removing the subsidy.

“Of course, among the three of them, Bola Tinubu decided to do or to remove the subsidy. And the consequences that we thought would happen certainly happened,” he said.

“And not only he decided to remove the subsidy, what he did was to remove it immediately. In fact, day one, without looking at all those possible issues that were associated to that.

“And that’s how we find ourselves in this total mess economically.”

According to Kwankwaso, the consequences of the policy have demonstrated that the decision was a mistake, although he said former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s position on the issue during the campaign was politically motivated.

“Now, everybody realizes that it was a mistake,” he said.

“But you see, what Wazir Adamawa did was just to play politics. I don’t think he meant what he said.”

Kwankwaso also criticised Atiku for failing to explain how he intended to implement his proposed subsidy policy, arguing that political considerations influenced the positions taken by the candidates during the 2023 campaign.

“That is one. And secondly, really, he didn’t tell anybody how he’s going to do it,” he said.

“But he knew people now are desperate. If you just go out there and say, I’ll remove it. Even when you said many times that you would not remove it.

“Now we have seen the consequences or they saw the consequences. They didn’t see it before. I saw it.”

Asked whether it would be difficult for him to campaign in the Northwest, where many Nigerians have continued to demand the return of fuel subsidy, while explaining that the NDC would not simply restore the subsidy in its previous form, Kwankwaso rejected the suggestion.

“No, no, no. Look, we are bringing subsidy in our own way,” he said.

The former Kano governor explained that the government could reduce the cost of petrol by supporting the expansion of domestic refining capacity, including through the construction of government-owned refineries.

He pointed to the emergence of privately built refineries as evidence that more refining capacity could be developed within Nigeria.

“Of course, there are many ways. One, I can tell you now we have a refinery built by businessman. And I’m sure more refineries would be built,” Kwankwaso said.

“Now, if individuals in this country could build refineries, I see no reason why government under certain circumstances will not build a refinery or refineries to the extent that we achieve the minimum requirement.”

He said the ultimate objective of the NDC would be to ensure that Nigerians could purchase petrol at what he described as a reasonable price.

“What is the minimum requirement? The minimum requirement is for the people across the country to go to the filling stations and buy fuel at a reasonable price,” he said.

“We in the NDC will do whatever it takes really to put the price of oil down.”

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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.