The spokesperson for the Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign, Kenneth Okonkwo, has accused President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly of breaching their constitutional responsibilities over the President’s prolonged absence from Nigeria without, according to him, formally transmitting power to Vice-President Kashim Shettima.

Kenneth Okonkwo made the allegation during an interview on Arise TV, where he argued that Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution does not make the transmission of presidential power dependent on the President being away from the country for 21 days.

President Tinubu has been away from Nigeria since August 30 on what the Presidency described as a working vacation, while Shettima has been representing Nigeria at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The Presidency has maintained that Tinubu remains in charge of government and continues to direct affairs from abroad.

But Okonkwo, a lawyer, disputed the constitutional basis of that position.

He said Section 145(1) expressly provides that whenever the President proceeds on vacation or is otherwise unable to perform the functions of his office, he is required to transmit a written declaration to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

He said the provision did not contain any reference to 21 days.

“In Section 145(1), there is no nexus between the President and 21 days. That subsection talked about the duty of the President,” Okonkwo said.

According to him, the 21-day provision comes into play under Section 145(2), which provides a mechanism for the National Assembly to appoint the Vice-President as Acting President where the President fails or is unable to transmit the required declaration.

Okonkwo argued that the National Assembly should not wait for the 21-day period to expire before taking action if it was clear that the President was unable to perform his functions.

“The country should not wait more than 21 days. If he fails, the Acting President should be inaugurated immediately as Vice-President and to perform the function,” he said.

He further argued that Shettima should continue performing presidential functions until Tinubu formally transmitted another declaration indicating that he had resumed his duties.

‘President and National Assembly have failed’

Okonkwo accused both arms of government of failing to discharge their respective constitutional responsibilities.

“What we are saying is that the President, who is the leader of the executive, has failed. The National Assembly, who is the leader of the legislature… they have failed,” he said.

He said the alleged failure represented a breakdown of the constitutional system of checks and balances.

Okonkwo said the Atiku campaign would take the issue to Nigerians rather than pursue a court action that could become academic if Tinubu returned to the country before litigation was concluded.

“What we’re going to do is to tell Nigerians that they have a failed President and failed National Assembly and vote them out in 2027,” he said.

The interview also touched on Tinubu’s absence from the United Nations General Assembly for the third consecutive year, with Okonkwo questioning why the President had again delegated Shettima to represent Nigeria.

He went further to allege that Tinubu was avoiding the United States, linking the President’s absence to renewed attention surrounding historical US records involving him. Those claims remain allegations, and the Presidency has rejected suggestions that Tinubu is unable to travel to the United States.

The Presidency has maintained that Tinubu’s absence from the UNGA was a scheduling decision and that Shettima was duly delegated to represent Nigeria.

The constitutional issue raised by Okonkwo, however, is distinct from the UNGA question: his central argument is that Section 145 requires a formal written declaration when the President proceeds on vacation or is otherwise unable to perform his functions, irrespective of whether the absence lasts 21 days.

The controversy is therefore likely to persist as long as Tinubu remains outside Nigeria without a publicly disclosed presidential declaration and the National Assembly does not invoke the procedure provided under Section 145(2).