President Bola Tinubu has ended his four-week working vacation in Europe and departed Paris, France, for Nigeria, with the President expected to arrive in Lagos later today.
His return comes against the backdrop of growing political and constitutional controversy over the length of his stay abroad, his decision to extend the vacation beyond the original three-week schedule and the period during which Vice-President Kashim Shettima was also outside the country attending the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The Presidency had initially announced that Tinubu would return after a three-week working vacation. He subsequently extended the trip by several days, prompting renewed questions from opposition figures and lawyers over the constitutional procedure governing a President’s absence from the country.
The African Democratic Congress and other opposition voices questioned whether the President had transmitted the written declaration contemplated under Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution when proceeding on vacation, while the African Action Congress on Monday instituted a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja challenging Tinubu’s absence and the National Assembly’s handling of the matter.
Section 145(1) provides that whenever the President is proceeding on vacation or is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, he shall transmit a written declaration to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
The provision further states that, until a contrary declaration is transmitted, the Vice-President performs the functions of the President as Acting President.
Under Section 145(2), if the President fails to transmit the declaration within 21 days, the National Assembly may, by resolutions of both chambers, mandate the Vice-President to perform the functions of Acting President.
The controversy intensified after Shettima left Abuja on September 20 to lead Nigeria’s delegation to the UN General Assembly, creating a period when both the President and Vice-President were outside the country.
Opposition politicians and constitutional lawyers offered differing interpretations of the implications of the development.
While critics argued that the constitutional succession mechanism should have been activated, the Presidency maintained that Tinubu remained in contact with officials at home and continued to direct the affairs of government from abroad. It also defended his decision to delegate Shettima to represent him at the UNGA. The latest legal challenge has now placed the issue before the courts.
The AAC is asking the Federal High Court to determine whether Tinubu could proceed on vacation without first transmitting the required declaration and whether the National Assembly was obliged to act after the President’s absence exceeded 21 days. No hearing date had been fixed as of yesterday.
Tinubu left Abuja on August 30 for London, where he spent about a week before proceeding to Paris.
The Presidency described the trip as a working vacation and said the President remained engaged with government business while abroad. During the period, he held a number of official and business-related engagements.
In Paris, Tinubu met French President Emmanuel Macron and businessman Vincent Bolloré, whose group’s interests include Canal+, MultiChoice and Universal Music Group.
The Presidency said the discussions with Bolloré focused on expanding investment in Nigeria’s creative and digital economy, including film, entertainment and fibre-optic infrastructure.
He also met billionaire businessman Femi Otedola in Paris on Monday, with Otedola subsequently publicly praising the President’s economic reforms.
On September 24, Tinubu witnessed the signing of Memoranda of Understanding between the Ogun State Government and DP World for the development of the Gateway Deep Sea Port and the Ogun State Blue Marine Special Economic Zone.
The projects are expected to attract more than $7 billion in initial investment, with the proposed port at Ogun Waterside featuring a four-kilometre berth and an 18-metre draft. The promoters say the development will help decongest the Lagos port corridor and create more than 50,000 direct jobs when fully developed.
Tinubu’s first destination on returning to Nigeria will be Lagos, where he is expected to remain for several days before returning to Abuja.
His Lagos programme will coincide with activities marking Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary on October 1.
The President is expected to attend the national premiere of MKO, a documentary on the life, political career and pro-democracy struggle of late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, at the Wole Soyinka National Theatre, Iganmu.
The documentary, directed by filmmaker Ose Oyamendan, examines the June 12, 1993 presidential election, its annulment by the military government and the pro-democracy struggle that followed. It is scheduled for nationwide cinema release on October 2.
Abiola’s June 12 victory was officially recognised by the Federal Government in 2018, when then-President Muhammadu Buhari declared June 12 Nigeria’s Democracy Day and conferred the nation’s highest honour, the Grand Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic, posthumously on Abiola.
Tinubu, himself a prominent figure in the pro-democracy struggle and a former governor of Lagos State, has repeatedly identified with the June 12 struggle.
His decision to mark this year’s Independence celebrations in Lagos, rather than Abuja, therefore gives the return from Europe a political as well as ceremonial dimension.
The President is also expected to hold meetings with political leaders and associates in Lagos before returning to Abuja.
The timing of the engagements is significant as political activity intensifies ahead of the 2027 general elections, although the Presidency’s formal programme for the Lagos stay centres on official and Independence Day activities.
Tinubu’s return will also bring to an end one of the more closely scrutinised presidential absences from Nigeria in recent years, with the constitutional questions surrounding the vacation now set for further examination through both public debate and the pending court proceedings.
