“Is SGF Akume Now Commander-In-Chief? Who Will Direct The Army If Nigeria Is Invaded Today?” — ADC Slams Tinubu’s Extended Vacation, Says Nobody Is In Charge

The African Democratic Congress [ADC] has slammed the Presidency over what it described as a dangerous constitutional power vacuum following the simultaneous absence of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima from the country.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, condemned the explanation by the Presidency that President Tinubu is on a “working vacation” in France while the Secretary to the Government of the Federation [SGF], George Akume, is effectively in charge.
Presenter [Seun Okinbaloye]: “The explanation of the presidency, saying it’s a ‘working vacation’ — one. Two, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation is effectively in charge and is carrying out the authority of the President. What part of these does your party not align with?”

Bolaji Abdullahi: “Well, Seun, thank you very much. You see, there is so much absurdity associated with this APC government that sometimes you wonder whether they know where the lines are anymore. The Secretary to the Federal Government — is he now the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria? Were Nigeria to be invaded by a foreign army today, who is on ground to direct the Nigerian Army appropriately? Who has the authority of the Commander-in-Chief? Not one person in this country today.”
Abdullahi said the situation exposes how the National Assembly has been destroyed under the APC.
“When we say the National Assembly has been destroyed under the APC government, it’s for moments like this. Because the part of the Constitution that you displayed went further to say: should the President fail to transmit a letter to the National Assembly after 21 days transferring power to the Vice President as the Acting President, then the National Assembly automatically assumes the power to confer that authority of Acting President on the Vice President.”

“Now, the Vice President is also out of the country. And this National Assembly under Godswill Akpabio is not the National Assembly that the Constitution of Nigeria envisaged, because they are not going to do anything. Rather, what you see from them is to continue to explain that the President is actually on a working vacation.”
Questioning the President’s engagements in Paris — including a dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron — Abdullahi asked what was so important in France to warrant both President and Vice President leaving the country at the same time.
Presenter: “With subtle meetings at the palace, he has had dinner with French President Macron, and…”
Abdullahi: “So the five-course meal that the President of Nigeria will eat with a President that is almost half his age or his child’s age is now more important than the Federal Republic of Nigeria? To warrant a situation where the President and the Vice President are leaving the country at the same time? Do we even understand the enormity of what they are doing?”

Presenter: “Do you imagine that there is a vacuum in power at the moment?”
Abdullahi: “Key! Absolutely! That’s the point I’m making. Who is in charge? That’s the question that Atiku Abubakar is asking: Who is in charge?”
He rejected the claim that SGF Akume is in charge.
Presenter: “They said the SGF, Akume, is in charge. That’s what the statement stated.”
Abdullahi: “So now, is SGF Akume the Acting President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria? Is that what they are telling us? Has the National Assembly sat and conferred — is that the chain of command? Is it the chain of succession that is spelled out by the Nigerian Constitution? Is the SGF, an appointee of the President, the one who should be in charge of the country when the President and the Vice President are not around?”

“You see, they insult the sensibility of Nigerians. They insult the Constitution. They behave as if Nigeria will cease to exist after them. What they are doing is dangerous. And they should realize that this will end one day. They are setting a very dangerous precedent. Nobody is in charge of Nigeria now.”
The ADC spokesperson warned that replacing the constitutional chain of succession with an informal arrangement headed by an appointed official is unconstitutional and sets a dangerous precedent for governance.