‘National disgrace’: ADC blasts Tinubu for vacationing in Paris while Macron heads to UNGA in New York

The African Democratic Congress has described it as a “national disgrace” that President Bola Tinubu is holidaying in Paris while his host, French President Emmanuel Macron, has left for New York to represent France at the United Nations General Assembly — as the opposition party raised serious constitutional questions about who is exercising presidential authority in Nigeria.

According to Daily Trust, ADC National Publicity Secretary Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi issued the broadside in a statement on Tuesday, describing Tinubu’s third consecutive UNGA absence as not merely poor optics but “a national embarrassment” that demanded urgent constitutional clarity.

“President Tinubu cannot be vacationing in Paris while President Macron is in New York representing France and expect Nigerians to accept that it is okay for their President to continue to hang around in a country after the host has left to attend to more important things,” Abdullahi said.

The ADC raised pointed constitutional questions, citing Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution, which requires the President to transmit a written declaration to the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives when proceeding on vacation for up to 21 days — after which the Vice President assumes Acting President functions.

“President Tinubu left Nigeria on August 30 and has now been away for more than 21 days. We therefore demand to know whether the required declaration was transmitted,” Abdullahi said, adding that with both the President and Vice President simultaneously outside Nigeria, the question of who holds constitutional executive authority was urgent and unanswered.

The ADC dismissed the Presidency’s “working vacation” explanation as having no constitutional basis. “There is no constitutional category known as a ‘working vacation’. Presidential authority cannot be transferred by convenience, protocol or press statement. Nigeria is a constitutional democracy, not a private enterprise to be managed remotely from a holiday destination,” Abdullahi stated.

He also rejected the suggestion that SGF Senator George Akume could represent presidential authority. “Representation is not governance. Attendance at official functions is not presidential authority.”