President Bola Tinubu has altered his return plans after a last-minute change to his travel itinerary, with sources saying his return to Nigeria may now take place on Tuesday.
Tinubu had been expected to return to the country on Sunday after spending several weeks in Europe on what the presidency described as a working vacation.
Sources familiar with the president’s itinerary had earlier said he would arrive in Lagos and spend up to a week there before returning to Abuja.
However, the planned return has reportedly been revised. The reason for the latest change was not immediately known as of Sunday morning.
The development comes six days after the presidency announced that Tinubu had extended his stay abroad by a few days and would return to Nigeria at the weekend. The State House had said the president remained in contact with officials in Nigeria and continued to direct the affairs of government while away.
Tinubu left Nigeria on August 30 for London to begin a three-week annual leave. The presidency described the trip as a working vacation and said he would return to Nigeria afterwards to join preparations for the January 2027 election.
After spending about a week in London, the president travelled to Paris, France, where he held meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron and businessman Vincent Bolloré. The presidency subsequently announced the extension of his stay and said he would return home at the weekend.
The latest adjustment means Tinubu’s absence from Nigeria has lasted considerably longer than the three-week vacation initially announced by the presidency.
His extended stay has also generated a constitutional debate, particularly over the provisions governing the temporary absence of a president. Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution states that when the president proceeds on vacation or is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, he is to transmit a written declaration to the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives. The provision further states that the vice-president performs the functions of president as acting president after such a declaration.
The same section provides that if the president is unable or fails to transmit the required declaration within 21 days, the National Assembly may, through resolutions of both chambers, mandate the vice-president to perform the functions of the president as acting president until the president indicates that he is available to resume his duties.
The issue has attracted criticism and calls for clarification from some opposition figures and lawmakers. Members of the House of Representatives under the Save Democracy Group had called for the National Assembly to reconvene and determine whether the constitutional requirements concerning Tinubu’s absence had been met.
Vice-President Kashim Shettima, who had been representing Tinubu at some official engagements, travelled to New York on September 20 to represent Nigeria at the 81st United Nations General Assembly. The presidency said Secretary to the Government of the Federation George Akume would also continue to represent Tinubu at official events while the president remained abroad.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio, however, has dismissed suggestions that there is a vacancy in the presidency or that Tinubu is no longer in charge of government.
Speaking in Akwa Ibom on Tuesday, Akpabio said, “I am not the acting president, because the president is still in power. The president is on a working leave. So, there’s no absence in Aso Rock.”
He also argued that Tinubu could continue to perform his responsibilities while outside Nigeria, saying, “What he cannot do here, he is doing abroad. The world has become a global village; you can give instructions from the internet about anything, so why are people complaining?”
Akpabio further stated, “There’s no vacancy; people who are talking are just talking,” insisting that “Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is still in power and is still running the affairs of Nigeria.”