Senate President Godswill Akpabio has said there is no vacancy in Aso Rock, insisting that President Bola Tinubu remains in charge of the country’s affairs despite being on vacation abroad.
Akpabio spoke in Akwa Ibom on Tuesday while inaugurating road projects executed by Governor Umo Eno.
He said Tinubu’s absence should not be interpreted as a transfer of power or presidential vacancy.
“I am not the acting president, because the president is still in power. The president is on a working leave. So, there’s no absence in Aso Rock,” Akpabio said.
According to him, the President continues to perform his responsibilities while outside the country and can issue directives and conduct government business remotely.
“What he cannot do here, he is doing abroad. The world has become a global village; you can give instructions from the internet about anything, so why are people complaining?” he stated.
The Senate President referenced Tinubu’s recent engagement abroad, including his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.
“The other day, he was with President Macron on a state visit, discussing bilateral to bring things back to Nigeria,” he said.
His comments come amid reactions on social media over the simultaneous absence of Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima from Nigeria, with Tinubu in France and Shettima attending the UNGA in New York.
“And then, because he could not make it to UNGA, the United Nations General Assembly, his vice-president went,” Akpabio said.
He noted that as chairman of the National Assembly, he was the appropriate authority to comment on whether there was a vacancy in the presidency.
“There’s no vacancy; people who are talking are just talking. I’m the only person as chairman of National Assembly that can speak the voice of National Assembly and say there is vacancy and there will be vacancy.
“Right now, there is no vacancy. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is still in power and is still running the affairs of Nigeria,” he said.
Akpabio also mocked those questioning the President’s absence.
“The people who are complaining are like people who are drinking water and say give me toothpick, the water is all for my teeth. They don’t know what to say,” he added.
