In what appears to be a breach of Section 145(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Thursday commenced a 10-day vacation in Europe without formally transmitting power to Vice President Kashim Shettima.
A statement released by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, confirmed that Tinubu departed Abuja on September 4 for France and the United Kingdom, where he is expected to spend his annual leave before returning to Nigeria.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will depart Abuja today, September 4, to commence a working vacation in Europe, as part of his 2025 annual leave. The vacation will last 10 working days. President Tinubu will spend the period between France and the UK and then return to the country,” Onanuga said.
However, the statement made no mention of a formal communication to the Senate President or the Speaker of the House of Representatives, a constitutional requirement that empowers the Vice President to act in the President’s absence. Both chambers of the National Assembly are currently on recess.
This is not the first time President Tinubu has left the country without formally invoking the constitutional provision. In October 2024, he embarked on a two-week “working vacation” in France and the UK without handing over to Shettima.
Since assuming office in May 2023, Tinubu has emerged as one of Nigeria’s most travelled leaders. Within just 17 months, the President and Vice President have embarked on 41 foreign trips across 26 countries, spending a combined 180 days abroad. Tinubu alone has accounted for 29 trips to 16 countries, totalling 124 days outside the country.
The latest vacation comes barely a week after his return from a 12-day diplomatic tour of Japan and Brazil, with stopovers in Dubai and Los Angeles. During that trip, Tinubu attended the ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9) in Yokohama and later signed bilateral agreements with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva covering aviation, foreign affairs, science and technology, and agriculture.
Earlier in April 2025, the President also spent 19 days in France and the UK on what the Presidency described as private visits.
The repeated failure to activate Section 145(1) has reignited concerns about constitutional compliance, executive accountability, and the role of the Vice President in governance during the President’s absence.
