Senate President Godswill Akpabio has said there is no vacancy in Aso Rock, insisting that President Bola Tinubu remains in charge of Nigeria despite his continued stay abroad.
Akpabio spoke on Tuesday in Akwa Ibom State while inaugurating road projects executed by Governor Umo Eno.
The Senate President said Tinubu’s absence from the country should not be interpreted as a transfer of presidential powers or a vacancy in the presidency.
“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 said.
Akpabio said Tinubu continued to perform his official responsibilities while abroad, arguing that the President could issue directives and conduct government business remotely.
“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?” he stated.
The Senate President also referred to Tinubu’s recent engagements outside the country, including his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.
“The other day, he was with President Macron on a state visit, discussing bilateral to bring things back to Nigeria,” Akpabio said.
He also addressed Tinubu’s absence from the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), noting that Vice-President Kashim Shettima represented Nigeria at the gathering.
“And then, because he could not make it to UNGA, the United Nations General Assembly, his vice-president went,” he said.
Akpabio said that, as Chairman of the National Assembly, he was the appropriate authority to speak on whether there was a vacancy in the presidency.
“There’s no vacancy; people who are talking are just talking. I’m the only person as chairman of national assembly that can speak the voice of national assembly and say there is vacancy and there will be vacancy,” he said.
“Right now, there is no vacancy. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is still in power and is still running the affairs of Nigeria.”
Akpabio also criticised those questioning Tinubu’s continued absence from Nigeria, comparing their concerns to people who complain unnecessarily.
“The people who are complaining are like people who are drinking water and say give me toothpick, the water is all for my teeth. They don’t know what to say,” he added.
Akpabio’s comments come amid renewed debate over Tinubu’s continued absence from Nigeria and the simultaneous absence of Vice-President Kashim Shettima, who is attending the UNGA in New York. Opposition figures have questioned the constitutional process for transferring presidential powers during the President’s absence, while the Federal Government has maintained that Tinubu remains in charge and continues to direct government affairs from abroad.
Tinubu left Nigeria on August 30 for what the Presidency described as a working vacation in Europe. His stay was later extended, with the Presidency saying he is expected to return to Nigeria at the weekend.