Lead Counsel of Bluecrest Solicitors and Advocates, Tonye Sipoto-Pepple, has raised concerns about what he described as a gap in Nigeria’s constitutional framework governing the temporary simultaneous absence of the President and Vice-President.
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Sipoto-Pepple, a former Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association, Port Harcourt Branch, said the controversy surrounding the absence of President Bola Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima presented a constitutional question extending beyond immediate partisan disagreements.
President Tinubu departed Abuja on August 30, 2026, for a three-week vacation in Europe as part of his annual leave.
On September 21, the Presidency announced that the President had extended the working vacation by a few days and would return to Nigeria at the weekend.
The Presidency maintained that Tinubu had remained in contact with officials and continued directing government affairs while abroad.
Shettima, meanwhile, left Abuja on September 20 for New York to represent Tinubu and lead Nigeria’s delegation to the 81st United Nations General Assembly.
Against that background, Sipoto-Pepple questioned whether Nigeria’s constitutional arrangements adequately provided for a situation in which the President and Vice-President were simultaneously outside the country without a publicly confirmed transfer of presidential powers under Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution.
According to the lawyer, the Constitution provides mechanisms for the temporary absence of the President and for a permanent vacancy in the presidency but does not expressly address the temporary simultaneous unavailability of the President and Vice-President.
He explained that Section 145 permits the President to transmit a written declaration to the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives whenever he proceeds on vacation or is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office.
Upon the transmission of the declaration, presidential functions are to be performed by the Vice-President as Acting President until the President communicates his return.
Section 145(2) further provides that where the President is unable or fails to transmit the declaration within 21 days, the National Assembly shall, by a resolution supported by a simple majority in each chamber, mandate the Vice-President to discharge the functions of the President as Acting President.
Sipoto-Pepple argued that the provision assumed that the Vice-President would be available to assume presidential responsibilities.
He contrasted Section 145 with Section 146, which governs circumstances in which the office of President becomes permanently vacant through death, resignation, impeachment, permanent incapacity or removal from office.
Under Section 146, the Vice-President assumes the office of President when such a permanent vacancy occurs. Where the offices of President and Vice-President are simultaneously vacant, the President of the Senate is required to hold the office of President for a period not exceeding three months, during which an election must be conducted.
The lawyer, however, observed that Section 146 did not expressly authorise the Senate President or any other official to exercise presidential powers during the temporary simultaneous absence of the President and Vice-President.
“The gap occurs because Section 145 presumes the Vice-President is available to step in, while Section 146 applies strictly to a permanent vacancy,” he said.
“The Constitution does not explicitly grant the Senate President automatic authority to act during a temporary, simultaneous absence of both the President and Vice-President.”
Sipoto-Pepple said the situation raised questions about whether physical absence from Nigeria necessarily amounted to an inability to discharge presidential responsibilities or whether modern communications technology permitted the President to govern remotely.
He also questioned whether the National Assembly’s responsibility under Section 145(2), after the stipulated 21-day period, was mandatory and what legal remedy could be pursued if the legislature failed to act.
The lawyer further asked whether any other institution or official could lawfully exercise presidential authority when both the President and Vice-President were temporarily unavailable, without violating the presidential system and the constitutional separation of powers.
Although the Presidency said the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, would continue to represent the President at official events, Sipoto-Pepple’s intervention concerns the exercise of substantive constitutional powers rather than ceremonial representation.
He maintained that the controversy required immediate transparency from both the Executive and Legislature.
According to him, the Presidency and National Assembly should formally clarify whether a declaration contemplated under Section 145 was transmitted and clearly establish the operational status of the presidency during the period.
Sipoto-Pepple also recommended a targeted and non-partisan judicial action seeking an authoritative interpretation of Sections 145 and 146.
He said such litigation should focus on whether the National Assembly’s responsibility under Section 145 was mandatory and whether any constitutional mechanism existed to address the simultaneous temporary unavailability of the two highest executive officers.
The lawyer further called for an amendment to the Constitution to expressly address the temporary absence of both the President and Vice-President, the remote exercise of presidential authority and narrowly defined emergency succession arrangements.
He warned that any emergency mechanism must prevent administrative paralysis without undermining the separation of powers or permitting an unconstitutional transfer of presidential authority.
Sipoto-Pepple stressed that the issue should not be reduced to partisan arguments, saying constitutional rules must remain predictable and effective during periods of uncertainty.
“Ultimately, constitutional governance requires rules that function predictably during moments of uncertainty,” he said.
“Resolving this gap ensures that executive authority remains transparent, accountable and legally grounded at all times.
“The law must work precisely when the people in power do not.”
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