The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused President Bola Tinubu of losing control of the Federal Government and has therefore urged him to resign honourably if he can no longer exercise the powers of his office.
The opposition party made the call in a statement issued on Friday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that the development follows the controversy surrounding the Border Communities Development Agency (BCDA), where a man reportedly removed from office by presidential directive is said to have continued occupying the position and holding meetings with senior government officials.
According to the ADC, the development raises serious concerns about who is truly in charge of the Nigerian Presidency, warning that the issue goes beyond a disputed appointment and points to a deeper constitutional crisis.
The party said, “If the reports concerning the Border Communities Development Agency (BCDA) are true, then this is no longer about one disputed appointment. It is about something far more disturbing: who is actually in charge of the Nigerian Presidency? When a President announces the appointment of one person and another simply ignores that directive and carries on in office, Nigeria is no longer witnessing administrative confusion. We are witnessing a struggle for control of the Presidency itself.”
The ADC argued that the BCDA controversy is not an isolated incident, saying it reflects what it described as a growing pattern of confusion and competing centres of power within the Tinubu administration.
The party also referred to the controversy surrounding the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), describing it as a phantom government agency that reportedly operated despite not officially existing.
According to the statement, “The BCDA episode cannot be dismissed as an isolated incident because it follows a growing and disturbing pattern. Nigerians are still watching in bewilderment, the embarrassing spectacle of the so-called phantom Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), a government agency that officially did not exist, yet somehow operated at the highest level of government, and conducted itself with the confidence of a legitimate institution until issues arose relating to his alleged collaboration with the President’s Chief of Staff.”
The opposition party said the two incidents suggest that the Presidency is gradually losing its constitutional authority over appointments and removals, adding that Nigerians can no longer be certain whether presidential directives are final or whether they can be overturned by unnamed individuals.
It said, “Taken together, these episodes reveal a Presidency steadily losing its monopoly over one of the most fundamental powers of government: the constitutional authority to appoint and remove public officers. Today, Nigerians no longer know whether an appointment announced by the Presidency is final, whether a dismissal actually takes effect, or whether someone somewhere possesses a superior authority capable of overruling presidential decisions without explanation.”
The ADC further alleged that official decisions under Tinubu’s administration now compete with what it described as unofficial power centres, claiming the situation has created uncertainty across government institutions.
“Effectively, Tinubu administration has become a place where official announcements compete with unofficial power, where competing interests fight over appointments and patronage. Under President Tinubu, the Nigerian Presidency, like the Nigerian economy and Nigeria’s security situation has started to resemble a system governed by the principle of the survival of the fittest,” the statement added.
The party also criticised what it called repeated policy reversals by the Federal Government, citing the suspension of the Cybersecurity Levy after public opposition and the withdrawal of the Expatriate Employment Levy following complaints from investors. It argued that such reversals have weakened confidence in the government and created uncertainty among investors, public servants and institutions.
According to the ADC, “A government that cannot consistently stand by its own decisions gradually loses not only credibility, but authority. Investors become uncertain. The bureaucracy become confused. Public institutions begin to test the limits of their power because they no longer know whether today’s directive will still exist tomorrow.”
The party demanded answers to what it described as constitutional questions surrounding the Presidency, asking who currently exercises the constitutional powers of the President, who authorises appointments and who allegedly reversed the President’s directive in the BCDA matter.
It stated, “These are not opposition questions. They are constitutional questions. They go directly to the integrity of executive authority and the stability of our nation.”
The ADC further warned that a situation where citizens, investors, diplomats and even public servants are unsure whether the President’s signature remains the highest executive authority is dangerous for the country’s democracy.
The party therefore called on the National Assembly to immediately investigate the matter by exercising its constitutional oversight responsibilities to determine whether President Tinubu remains fully capable of discharging the duties of his office and whether the powers vested in him by the Constitution are being personally exercised by him rather than by unelected individuals operating behind the scenes.
It urged the President to step down if he is unable to reassert control over his administration.
“If President Tinubu is unable to assert control over his own Presidency, then the honourable course is to acknowledge that reality and resign. Nigeria cannot afford a Presidency where nobody knows who is truly in charge,” the statement said.