President Bola Tinubu departed Paris for Lagos on Tuesday, ending a four-week working vacation that began on 30 August. The Presidency had announced a three-week trip. It extended by several days without a formal explanation.
The return comes amid a constitutional controversy that the Presidency’s public statements have not resolved. Section 145(1) of the 1999 Constitution requires the President to transmit a written declaration to the Senate President and the Speaker of the House before proceeding on vacation. No public record confirms whether Tinubu did so.
The African Action Congress filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday. The party asks the court to declare that Tinubu breached Section 145(1) by leaving without the declaration. It also asks whether the National Assembly was obliged to act after the President’s absence exceeded 21 days.
The timing of the controversy intensified after Vice President Kashim Shettima left Abuja on 20 September to lead Nigeria’s delegation to the UN General Assembly. For a period, both the President and Vice President were outside the country. The Presidency defended the arrangement, stating that Tinubu remained in contact with officials and continued to direct government affairs from abroad.
This mirrors the 2009-2010 crisis when President Umaru Yar’Adua left for medical treatment in Saudi Arabia without transmitting a declaration. For three months, Nigeria operated without a formally empowered president. The Federal Executive Council eventually invoked a “doctrine of necessity” to make Goodluck Jonathan acting president. The difference now is that Tinubu returned voluntarily, and the constitutional ambiguity resolves itself through his physical presence. But the legal challenge remains.
The Presidency says Tinubu will mark Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary in Lagos on Thursday before returning to Abuja. During his time in Paris, he met French President Emmanuel Macron and businessman Vincent Bolloré. Discussions focused on investment in Nigeria’s creative and digital economy. He also met billionaire Femi Otedola, who subsequently praised the President’s economic reforms.
Winners and Losers
Winners: The AAC and other opposition parties, who gain a legal platform to challenge executive conduct. Tinubu, who returns without formal legislative challenge.
Losers: The National Assembly, which never received the declaration and never forced the issue. The Nigerian public, which watched a constitutional question dissolve without resolution. The Presidency, which allowed a routine vacation to become a legal controversy.
Bottom Line: The President returns. The court case continues. The next absence will raise the same question unless the National Assembly answers it first.