AAC asks court to rule on Tinubu’s vacation and power transfer
The African Action Congress has filed a Federal High Court suit challenging President Bola Tinubu’s failure to transmit a written declaration before travelling abroad on vacation. The party wants the court to determine whether Vice-President Kashim Shettima should have been authorised to act after the president’s absence exceeded 21 days.
The African Action Congress has sued President Bola Tinubu and other senior officials over his failure to transmit a written declaration before leaving Nigeria on an extended vacation in Europe. The suit was filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday by the party’s National Legal Adviser, Inibehe Effiong. The defendants include the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi; Senate President Godswill Akpabio; Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas; and the National Assembly.
No hearing date has been fixed. The AAC is asking the court to interpret Section 145(1) of the Nigerian Constitution and determine whether the president could proceed on vacation without notifying the Senate president and the House speaker in writing so that the vice-president could act as president. The party also wants the court to determine whether the National Assembly acted unlawfully by failing to convene and pass a resolution authorising Vice-President Kashim Shettima to act after Tinubu’s absence exceeded 21 days.
Tinubu left Nigeria on 30 August for London. The presidency described the trip as a working vacation and said he was expected to return after three weeks. On 21 September, it announced that the stay had been extended by several days.
A later statement by the president’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said Tinubu had continued official duties from abroad and would return during the week. In its originating summons, the AAC asked the court to declare the president’s failure to transmit the declaration unconstitutional and a violation of his oath of office. It also sought an injunction preventing him from taking future vacations without making the required notification.
The party is fielding Omoyele Sowore as its candidate for the 2027 presidential election. The suit further cites the National Assembly’s alleged inaction during the president’s absence and asks the court to pronounce on the constitutional consequences.
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