● Presidency Says President Working Remotely, Returns This Week
Emerging reports from the courts in Abuja shows that the African Action Congress (AAC) has sued President Bola Tinubu at the Federal High Court in Abuja over his alleged failure to formally notify the National Assembly before embarking on a month-long vacation in Europe.
In the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2358/2026, the AAC also joined the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Senate President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the National Assembly as defendants.
The party, through its lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, is asking the court to declare that Tinubu violated Section 145(1) of the 1999 Constitution by leaving Nigeria on August 30, 2026, without transmitting a written declaration to the National Assembly leadership.
The AAC also alleges that the National Assembly failed to invoke Section 145(2) to empower the Vice-President to act as President after Tinubu had been away for more than 21 days.
The party is seeking a perpetual injunction restraining the President from embarking on future vacations without complying with the constitutional requirement.
The court has directed the defendants to enter appearance within 30 days of being served. No hearing date has been fixed.
The details come as the Presidency has defended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s prolonged stay outside Nigeria, saying that advances in digital communication mean the President does not need to be physically present in Abuja to discharge his constitutional responsibilities.
The defence notwithstanding, his fellow competitors in next year’s presidential election are having a field day drawing attention to his absence. Peter Obi of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) wants to know where he is and why he was so conspicuously absent when others, like the Ghanaian President, shone so bright at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
Atiku Abubakar headache is what the President is still doing in France after his holiday, while drawing attention to his breach of the Constitution in the manner he left without formally notifying the National Assembly.
But another Presidential candidate in next year’s election, Omoyele Sowore, appears to know more than other Nigerians as he claimed on Monday that the President is in France receiving treatment and would return as soon as he is discharged.
However, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said on Sunday in a statement posted on his official X account, saying Tinubu was “hale and hearty” and had been on a working vacation.
“In this digital age, he does not need to be physically present in Abuja to do the work for which he was elected in 2023,” Onanuga said.
According to the presidential aide, Tinubu is expected to return to Nigeria this week and participate in activities marking the country’s 66th Independence Anniversary.
The President is also expected to attend the Nigerian premiere of MKO, a documentary about the life of the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola and the June 12, 1993 presidential election.
Tinubu left Nigeria on August 30 for what the Presidency initially described as a three-week working vacation. He travelled first to London before proceeding to Paris for official engagements.
The Presidency subsequently announced that he had extended his stay abroad by a few days.
While in France, Tinubu was reported to have held meetings with investors and participated in engagements relating to major infrastructure and investment projects.
One of the developments cited by the Presidency was the signing of memoranda of understanding between the Ogun State Government and DP World concerning the proposed development of the Gateway Deep Seaport and the Ogun State Blue Marine Special Economic Zone.
The agreements, signed in Paris on September 24, are linked to a proposed investment estimated at about $7 billion. The planned port is expected to have a four-kilometre berth and an 18-metre draft and is intended to help decongest the Lagos port corridor.
Onanuga cited the investment discussions as evidence that Tinubu’s stay abroad had involved official work rather than being solely a private holiday.
Tinubu also did not personally attend the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, with Vice-President Kashim Shettima leading Nigeria’s delegation.
The Presidency said the Vice-President had been delegated to represent Nigeria at the gathering.
Onanuga noted that Tinubu was not the only major African leader absent from the General Assembly, citing South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
The decision nevertheless attracted criticism from opposition figures, who questioned the length of Tinubu’s absence and whether the President had formally transmitted power to the Vice-President while away.
Former Vice-President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, questioned the prolonged absence of President Bola Tinubu from Nigeria, while African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore announced plans by his party to challenge the situation in court and seek impeachment proceedings against the President.
Speaking to journalists at the High Court on Monday, Sowore claimed that President Tinubu was in hospital and said he expected the President to return to Nigeria after his discharge.
“Well, I know where he is. He’s in the hospital. So I guess when he’s discharged, he’ll return,” Sowore said.
He added that the AAC had resolved to take legal action against the President and seek the involvement of the National Assembly in impeachment proceedings.
“But we have taken a position in our party to sue him and [ask] the National Assembly to commence his impeachment. And we’re filing the case today, right at the Federal High Court here,” he said.
Meanwhile, Atiku questioned why President Tinubu remained in Paris, France, after the expiration of what the Presidency had described as a three-week annual vacation.
In a statement issued through his media aide, Atiku asked what was keeping the President in France, particularly as Nigeria continues to face security, economic and cost-of-living challenges.
He also questioned whether the constitutional procedure for the transfer of presidential functions had been followed, particularly with regard to notification to the National Assembly.
Atiku cited Section 145(2) of the Constitution, which provides that where the President fails to transmit the required declaration within 21 days, the National Assembly may, by a simple majority of each House, mandate the Vice-President to perform the functions of President.
According to Atiku, Tinubu had been away from Nigeria for 28 days—seven days beyond the 21-day period referenced in the constitutional provision.
“President Bola Tinubu left Nigeria on 30 August for what the Presidency described as a three-week annual vacation. That period expired days ago. His return was subsequently extended, and reports today indicate that his expected return today has been postponed yet again.
“The obvious question is: what exactly is keeping the President of Nigeria in Paris? So where is the letter? If it was transmitted, let the Presidency, Senate President or Speaker publish it.
“If no letter was transmitted, Nigerians deserve to know why the constitutional procedure has not been followed. We do not want to believe insinuations that the inner circle of Tinubu are scared of Shettima being handed the Acting President authority.
“Former President Muhammadu Buhari transferred presidential functions to Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on five occasions during his tenure, including through formal Section 145 communications to the National Assembly,” he said.