ABUJA, Nigeria — September 24, 2026: A growing political and constitutional controversy has emerged in Nigeria following President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s prolonged stay outside the country while Vice-President Kashim Shettima is also abroad on official engagements.

The controversy centres on a fundamental question: who is formally exercising the constitutional functions of the President while both the President and Vice-President are outside Nigeria?

President Tinubu left Nigeria on August 30 for what the Presidency described as a three-week working vacation. He initially travelled to London before proceeding to Paris, France. On September 21, the Presidency announced that he had extended his stay by a few days and was expected to return to Nigeria at the weekend.

Vice-President Shettima, meanwhile, travelled to New York on September 20 to represent Nigeria at the 81st United Nations General Assembly.

Their simultaneous absence has triggered renewed debate over Section 145 of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution, which sets out the procedure to be followed when a President proceeds on vacation or is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of the office.

What Section 145 Says

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

Under the provision, the Vice-President performs the functions of the President as Acting President until the President transmits a declaration indicating his availability to resume those functions.

Section 145(2) also provides a mechanism for situations in which the President does not transmit the required declaration within 21 days. In such circumstances, the National Assembly may, by a simple-majority resolution of both chambers, mandate the Vice-President to perform the functions of President as Acting President until the President communicates his availability.

It is this 21-day provision that has become central to the current controversy.

Opposition Demands Clarification

The African Democratic Congress has questioned whether President Tinubu transmitted the written declaration required under Section 145.

The party has demanded that Nigerians be told whether such a document was sent to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.

Former Vice-President and ADC presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has also questioned who is constitutionally exercising presidential authority, arguing that the public should be given clarity on whether the required constitutional procedure was followed.

Some members of the House of Representatives operating under the Save Democracy Group have gone further, calling on the National Assembly to reconvene and determine whether action under Section 145(2) is required.

The lawmakers say that if the required declaration was transmitted, the Senate President and Speaker should publicly confirm that fact. If it was not, they argue that the National Assembly should consider the procedure provided by Section 145(2).

Presidency Says Tinubu Remains in Charge

The Presidency has rejected the suggestion that Nigeria is without effective presidential leadership.

According to the government’s position, President Tinubu has remained in contact with officials in Nigeria and continues to direct government affairs while abroad.

Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, has also argued that the President’s constitutional powers are not geographically restricted and that Tinubu can continue governing Nigeria while outside the country.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio has similarly dismissed suggestions of a leadership vacuum.

Speaking in Akwa Ibom, Akpabio said Tinubu remained President and was still running the affairs of the country from abroad. He also rejected the suggestion that he himself had become Acting President.

Akpabio argued that modern communications make it possible for the President to issue instructions and oversee government business from another country.

Why Shettima’s Absence Has Intensified the Controversy

Ordinarily, the Vice-President would be the constitutional figure at the centre of any temporary transfer of presidential functions.

However, Shettima is currently in New York representing Nigeria at the United Nations General Assembly.

That has made the situation more politically sensitive because the two highest-ranking elected officials in the executive branch are simultaneously outside Nigeria.

The Senate President is also reported to be abroad, further fuelling questions about the country’s constitutional chain of authority.

The issue has therefore moved beyond questions about whether a president can work remotely. It has become a debate over whether the formal constitutional procedure for presidential absence has been followed.

Legal Experts Raise Concerns

Human-rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong has argued that Section 145 requires presidential authority to be formally addressed when the President proceeds on vacation or is otherwise unable to discharge his functions.

Effiong said the simultaneous absence of Tinubu and Shettima raised constitutional concerns and called on the National Assembly to intervene.

Former National Human Rights Commission chairman Chidi Odinkalu has also criticised the prolonged absence, arguing that the country should not be governed indefinitely from abroad.

These are the views of the individual legal commentators and should not be treated as a judicial determination that the Constitution has been violated.

The Unresolved Question

At the centre of the dispute is therefore a relatively specific factual question:

Did President Tinubu transmit the written declaration contemplated by Section 145 of the Constitution to the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives?

As of September 24, public reports have not established that the document has been publicly released.

The Presidency maintains that Tinubu remains in charge and continues to direct government affairs. Critics, opposition politicians and some lawmakers argue that communication with officials from abroad does not by itself answer whether the constitutional procedure for presidential absence has been satisfied.

The National Assembly’s response could therefore become significant in determining whether the controversy remains a political dispute or develops into a formal constitutional issue.

For now, President Tinubu remains the substantive President of Nigeria, while Vice-President Shettima is representing the country at the United Nations General Assembly. Tinubu is expected back in Nigeria at the weekend, according to the Presidency.

Until the question surrounding Section 145 is publicly clarified, however, the debate over the formal exercise of presidential authority is likely to continue.

Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, has approved the appointment of 101 new political aides.

The appointments were announced on Monday, September 21, 2026, in a statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia. According to the statement, the appointments take immediate effect.

The 101 appointees comprise *7 Special Advisers (SPAs), 6 Senior Special Assistants (SSAs) and 88 Special Assistants (SAs).*

Here is the full list as announced:

*SPECIAL ADVISERS (7)*
1. Chief S.N.C. Nwagu — Special Adviser on Conflict Resolution and Mediation
2. Hon. Dr. Fidelis Odo — Special Adviser on Inter-Governmental Affairs and Co-ordination
3. Augustine Okoli — Special Adviser on Policy Affairs and Analysis
4. Hon. Pedro Nwankwo — Special Adviser on Stakeholders Relations and Community Affairs
5. Chimezie Nkwuo — Special Adviser on Economic Development
6. Chief Vitalis Okonkwo — Special Adviser on Grassroot Coordination
7. Peter Andy Omeje — Special Adviser on Commerce and Business Development

*SENIOR SPECIAL ASSISTANTS (6)*
8. Rachael Okonkwo — SSA on Film and Creative Industry Development
9. Barr. Okey Ude — SSA on Inter-Party and Mobilisation
10. Hon. Chinedu Chukwunwike — SSA on Party Monitoring
11. Barr. Peter Chukwujekwu Ogbe — SSA on Legal and Regulatory Compliance
12. Chukwudi Ozoeluba — SSA on Boundary and Land Dispute Resolution
13. Frank Udemezue — SSA on Small and Medium Enterprise Development

*SPECIAL ASSISTANTS (88)*
The remaining 88 are Special Assistants across various sectors, including:

14. Hon. Alachi Aaron Onu — Forest Protection and Conservation
15. Ugwu Emmanuel Chima — Market Maintenance and Sanitation
16. Dr. Okwoigwe Modestus Ndubuisi — Health Facility Maintenance
17. Hon. Okechukwu Agu — Environmental Protection
18. Ozor Ejike Okpe — Enlightenment and Communication
19. Solomon Gwiyi — Publications and Documentation
20. Cornelius Ugwu — Town Union Co-ordination
21. Hon. Romanus Ugwu — Market Decongestion
22. Hon. Gab Onu — Market Sanitation
23. Prince Lawrence Ugwu — Road Infrastructure Maintenance
24. Ugwunnadi Pius Nwabueze — Grassroot and Rural Integration
25. Timothy Chukwuemeka Nnaji — Community Youth Engagement and Development
26. Nick Nnaji — Town Union Matters
27. Mrs. Eucharia Anunobi — Women Mobilization, Enugu-North Zone
28. Aneke Ogbonna Ajie — Community Engagement
29. Christian Ede — Government House Matters
30. Pastor Emeka Ogbonna — Humanitarian Band and Entertainment
31. Chidi Udo — Inter State Relations
32. Engr. Egbonwonu Jude Chikezie — Infrastructure Monitoring and Maintenance
33. Emma Ogbonna — Civic Education and Voter Awareness
34. Ali Stanley Osita — Chieftaincy and Traditional Affairs
35. Hon. Onuora Udeanugwo — Cooperative Development and Empowerment

…and 66 others covering portfolios such as Political and Grassroot Mobilization, Youth Development, Public Enlightenment, Non-Indigene Relations, Urban Beautification, Ecological Management, and Technology and Innovation.

The government said the spread is aimed at strengthening grassroots engagement and policy communication across the 260 wards of the state.

Former Anambra State Governor, Mr. Peter Obi, has released his official handover document to counter claims by the Anambra State Government that his administration left behind outstanding loans and financial liabilities.

The document, dated March 17, 2014, details the financial position of the state at the time he left office, after handing over to his successor, Willie Obiano.

According to the handover note, the Obi administration left a net positive balance of over ₦86 billion in local and foreign currency investments, including cash and fixed deposits, as well as investments in quoted companies.

The release comes days after a document circulating and attributed to the current administration of Governor Chukwuma Soludo listed several World Bank and IFAD-assisted projects as loans allegedly taken by the state during Obi’s tenure from 2006 to 2014.

Obi’s supporters argue that the listed projects – including the Malaria Control Booster Project, FADAMA III, Health Systems Development Project II, SEPIP, Community and Social Development Project, NEWMAP and VCDP – were Federal Government borrowings from international development partners where Anambra was only a participating beneficiary state, and not direct state government loans.

Reacting to the controversy, the Anambra State Government has maintained that irrespective of the borrower structure, the financial obligations and counterpart funding linked to the programmes were tied to the state and remain part of its inherited liabilities.

The debate has continued to generate heated reactions on social media, with both camps trading documents and interpretations of World Bank financing records.

As at press time, the State Government is yet to issue a detailed official response to the handover document released by Obi.

Debunking the Phantom Debts and Ecological Loan Fallacy

My attention has been drawn to trending claims by the Anambra State Government that my administration left behind inherited debts, including a ₦2 billion ecological loan, contractor liabilities, and unpaid salaries, gratuities, and pensions. This is completely false.

We systematically liquidated historical gratuities and arrears dating back several years, amounting to over ₦35 billion. At the point of handover, the state owed nothing in salaries, gratuities, or pensions, nor did we owe anything to any contractor for projects duly executed and certified.

The ₦2 billion ecological fund in question was released barely three months before the end of my tenure for the Oko/Umuchiana erosion crisis. Despite pressure to spend the money, I refused, insisting that it should be left for my successor because government is a continuum and the funds were tied to a specific project.

The money was therefore left 100 per cent intact in First Bank, in Account No. 2018779464, with a balance of over ₦2.13 billion.

It is important to stress that funds tied to specific projects or set aside for particular purposes were not even included in the over ₦75 billion in savings we left behind.

If anybody can establish anything to the contrary, I will stop campaigning.

– PO

LAGOS— A viral photo circulating online has sparked widespread reactions after it purportedly showed Lagos lawmaker Desmond Elliot kneeling to beg the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.

The photo, which was shared in a post attributed to Vanguard News on Facebook, claimed that Elliot was seeking forgiveness and plotting a return to the All Progressives Congress (APC) fold.

In the image, Elliot is seen on his knees in what appears to be an office setting, gesturing while speaking to two seated men, one of whom is believed to be Gbajabiamila.

The post with the caption “Desmond Elliot begs Gbajabiamila for forgiveness, seeks return to APC” has generated thousands of comments and shares within hours, with many Nigerians questioning the authenticity and context of the picture.

As of the time of filing this report, neither Hon. Desmond Elliot, who represents Surulere Constituency 1 in the Lagos State House of Assembly, nor Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila has officially reacted to the viral image or the claim.

Desmond Elliot, a former actor turned politician, has been a member of the APC and a close political ally of Gbajabiamila in Lagos politics for years.

Efforts to get an official confirmation from Vanguard News on the post were still ongoing at press time.