Senate President Godswill Akpabio has rejected calls for President Bola Tinubu to hand over power to Vice President Kashim Shettima, insisting that the President's extended working vacation outside Nigeria does not create a leadership vacuum. Akpabio made the remarks on Tuesday, September 22, in Akwa Ibom State, where he attended the commissioning of road projects delivered under Governor Umo Eno.
Akpabio Defends Tinubu's Remote Governance
Speaking to journalists at the event, Akpabio said: "I am the Senate President, and I am not the acting President of Nigeria, because President Tinubu is still in power. He is on a working leave, and there is no absence in Aso Rock. The world is a global village, and one can give instructions over the internet. So, why are people complaining?"
His comments come amid growing public debate over the President's absence, which began as a three-week holiday and has since been extended by an additional week. The Presidency had not provided a formal return date for President Tinubu at the time Akpabio made his remarks.
Only the Senate Can Declare a Vacancy
Akpabio argued that the authority to formally declare a presidential vacancy rests with his office as Senate President, and that no such declaration has been made or is warranted. "Right now, there is no vacancy. Asiwaju Tinubu is still in power, and he is still running the affairs of Nigeria," he added.
To support his position, Akpabio cited recent diplomatic activity, pointing to communications between President Tinubu and French President Emmanuel Macron as evidence that governance continues despite the physical distance.
APC Closes Ranks Over Tinubu's Absence
Critics had argued that the President's prolonged time abroad was slowing down decision-making and creating uncertainty at the top of government. Akpabio pushed back firmly on that view, saying modern communications make a remote presidency perfectly workable.
Akpabio's intervention signals that the ruling All Progressives Congress is presenting a united front against suggestions that the country is drifting without clear direction from the top. The Senate President's statement came as the Presidency remained silent on when President Tinubu would return to Nigeria, leaving the extended vacation as the only official timeline available to the public.
