Clarifying Section 145: No Constitutional Breach in President Tinubu’s Short Leave

By: Okoi Obono-Obla

There is no provision in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), that mandates the President to hand over the reins of presidential power to the Vice President simply because he is proceeding on annual leave, any other form of leave, or will be absent from the country for ten days. No such provision exists.

Therefore, any suggestion or insinuation that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has breached the Constitution by not transmitting power to the Vice President during his recent travel to Europe for a ten-day leave is completely misplaced. Such assertions may even be seen as mischievous attempts to provoke a reaction from the uninformed.

Section 145 of the Constitution, which provides for the appointment of an Acting President during the temporary absence of the President, is not applicable under the present circumstances of President Tinubu’s short leave.

Specifically, Section 145(1) of the Constitution states:

“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 to that effect, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, the Vice-President shall perform the functions of the President as Acting President.”

Furthermore, Section 145(2) provides:

> “In the event that the President is unable or fails to transmit the written declaration mentioned in subsection (1) of this section within 21 days, the National Assembly shall, by a resolution made by a simple majority of the vote of each House of the National Assembly, mandate the Vice-President to perform the functions of the office of the President as Acting President until the President transmits a letter to the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives that he is now available to resume his functions as President.”

It is, therefore, clear that Section 145(1) can only be invoked where the President will be unable to perform the functions of his office for 21 days or more—not for a period as short as ten days.

You cannot import into the Constitution what is not envisaged or contemplated by the framers of the Constitution.

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