The African Action Congress (AAC) has approached the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking judicial interpretation of Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution, following President Bola Tinubu’s decision to proceed on an extended vacation in Europe without, according to the party, transmitting a written declaration empowering Vice President Kashim Shettima to act as President.
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The suit was filed on Monday, September 28, 2026, by the AAC’s National Legal Adviser, Inibehe Effiong, on behalf of the party. President Tinubu, Attorney-General of the Federation Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas, and the National Assembly were named as defendants. No date had been fixed for hearing as of the filing of the action.
At the heart of the originating summons is whether a President who is proceeding on vacation can constitutionally remain in office without first transmitting a written declaration to the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives for the Vice President to assume presidential functions in an acting capacity.
Section 145(1) of the Constitution provides that whenever the President is proceeding on vacation or is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of the office, he shall transmit a written declaration to the Senate President and Speaker, after which the Vice President performs the functions of President as Acting President until another declaration is transmitted indicating the President’s return.
Section 145(2) further provides that where the President is unable or fails to transmit that declaration within 21 days, the National Assembly shall, by a simple majority resolution of each chamber, mandate the Vice President to perform the functions of President as Acting President until the President formally indicates that he is available to resume his functions.
Relying on those provisions, the AAC is asking the court to determine whether President Tinubu could constitutionally proceed on vacation without sending the written declaration contemplated by Section 145(1).
The party is also asking the court to determine whether the National Assembly’s alleged failure to convene and pass a resolution authorising Shettima to act as President after Tinubu had been away for more than 21 days violated Section 145(2).
The AAC urged the court to declare that a President proceeding on vacation “must compulsorily transmit a written declaration” to the Senate President and the Speaker before leaving, so that the Vice President can exercise presidential functions in an acting capacity.
It further wants the court to declare President Tinubu’s alleged failure to make that transmission before proceeding on his European vacation from August 30 to September 28 as unconstitutional, unlawful and inconsistent with his oath of office.
The party additionally asked the court to declare that the National Assembly’s failure to invoke Section 145(2) after more than 21 days of presidential absence was unlawful and unconstitutional.
Beyond declarations concerning the present dispute, the AAC is seeking an order of perpetual injunction restraining President Tinubu from proceeding on future vacations without first transmitting the constitutionally prescribed written declaration to the Senate President and Speaker.
The suit arose from President Tinubu’s departure from Abuja on August 30, 2026, for what the Presidency announced as a three-week vacation forming part of his annual leave.
The State House described the trip as a working vacation and said the President would first travel to London.
After spending about a week in London, Tinubu travelled to Paris, where the Presidency said he continued to undertake engagements, including meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron and businessman Vincent Bolloré.
On September 21, the Presidency announced that the working vacation had been extended by “a few days” and said Tinubu would return to Nigeria at the weekend.
The State House maintained that the President remained in touch with Nigeria and continued directing government affairs while abroad. It cited, among other things, his directive for an independent investigation into the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners following their detention by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
The Presidency also said Vice President Shettima had been delegated to represent Tinubu at some official functions, including the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The AAC’s case, however, raises a different legal question: whether delegation of particular official assignments or the President’s continued performance of functions remotely can substitute for the written declaration expressly contemplated by Section 145 where the President is proceeding on vacation.
That question has not yet been determined by the Federal High Court.
In its supporting affidavit, the AAC referred to the initial three-week vacation and its subsequent extension, contending that the constitutional mechanism governing temporary presidential absence ought to have been activated.
The party also referred to Senate President Akpabio’s activities during the period, including his trip to Italy, where he said he visited the Prayer Ground of St. Padre Pio in San Giovanni Rotondo to pray for Nigeria.
The party wants the court to examine not merely Tinubu’s conduct but also the constitutional responsibility imposed on the National Assembly where a President fails to transmit a declaration within the 21-day period stipulated under Section 145(2).
The action therefore places before the Federal High Court questions concerning the constitutional relationship between the President, Vice President and National Assembly during a temporary presidential absence.
It also seeks judicial clarification on whether describing a trip as a “working vacation,” while the President continues performing some official functions from abroad, changes the operation of Section 145.
The Constitution itself uses the expression “whenever the President is proceeding on vacation or is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office” in prescribing the transmission of the written declaration.
The Presidency has maintained throughout Tinubu’s absence that he continued to perform his official responsibilities from abroad and had delegated some assignments to other senior government officials.
The AAC, however, is asking the court to determine whether those arrangements satisfy the constitutional requirements governing a President who proceeds on vacation.
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