Presidential spokesperson, Daniel Bwala, has stated that Nigeria's Commander-in-Chief can govern the country from anywhere in the world.
According to him, the power associated with the office is not limited to geography.
Bwala said this amid calls from opposition leaders asking why President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima are both out of the country.
In a statement on Monday, Paul Ibe, an aide to the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, asked the Presidency to state whether Tinubu issued a letter of transmission of power before he left the country on vacation.
He said, "Twenty-one days have come and gone since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu left Nigeria on what the Presidency described as a three-week annual vacation.
"Today, Nigerians are entitled to ask a very simple constitutional question: Who is in charge of Nigeria?
"Section 145 of the Constitution is not ambiguous about presidential vacations. It provides that whenever the President proceeds on vacation, he shall transmit a written declaration to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, whereupon the Vice President performs the functions of President as Acting President.
"And where the President fails to transmit that declaration within 21 days, the Constitution provides a further safeguard: the National Assembly shall, by a simple majority of each House, mandate the Vice President to perform the functions of President as Acting President.
"President Tinubu left Nigeria on 30 August. The Presidency publicly announced a three-week vacation. Yet, to date, Nigerians have not been shown any constitutional letter transmitting presidential authority to Vice President Kashim Shettima.
"The 21 days have now elapsed. If such a letter exists, the Presidency should publish it immediately.
"If it does not, then the constitutional mechanism contemplated by Section 145(2) has been triggered, and the National Assembly owes Nigerians an explanation as to why it has not acted.
"This is not a matter of political convenience. It is a matter of constitutional order.
"The situation is made even more disturbing by the fact that Vice President Shettima is himself presently in New York representing Nigeria at the United Nations General Assembly — the third consecutive UN General Assembly at which President Tinubu has delegated Nigeria's representation to his deputy.
"So again: who is exercising presidential authority in Nigeria today, and under what constitutional instrument?"
In response, Bwala shared on X, "It is funny how opposition candidates are asking the question of who is in charge of Nigeria simply because the President and Vice President are out of the country.
"For the avoidance of doubt, the power of the President to govern Nigeria is not limited to geography. As Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, he can order, direct, delegate and/or administer the constitution of Nigeria anywhere in the world. See section 5 in f the Constitution.
"@atiku and @PeterObi, you both have not yet defined and/or explained a clear alternative path other than populist rhetoric."
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