Reported by: Puis Althea | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The African Democratic Congress has called on the National Assembly to invoke constitutional provisions to determine whether President Bola Tinubu remains fit to discharge the duties of his office, alleging that the President has lost control of his government and that unelected interests may be exercising presidential powers behind the scenes. The opposition party made the demand in a statement issued on Friday, July 17, 2026, by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, following what it described as a troubling pattern of administrative confusion and defiance of presidential directives within the Federal Government.
The ADC's call was triggered by a reported leadership crisis at the Border Communities Development Agency, where a director publicly removed from office by presidential directive allegedly continued to occupy the position and hold meetings with senior government officials. According to the party, the incident raises fundamental constitutional questions about the integrity of executive authority. "If the reports concerning the BCDA are true, then this is no longer about one disputed appointment. It is about something far more disturbing: who is actually in charge of the Nigerian Presidency?" the ADC asked in its statement. "When a President announces the appointment of one person and another simply ignores that directive and carries on in office, Nigeria is no longer witnessing administrative confusion. We are witnessing a struggle for control of the Presidency itself".
The party maintained that the BCDA controversy was not an isolated incident but part of a growing pattern of dysfunction within the Tinubu administration. It recalled the scandal surrounding the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, which the ADC described as a "phantom" agency that allegedly operated at the highest levels of government despite lacking official legal status. The party noted that the PFIPC controversy only attracted significant official attention after allegations emerged linking its self-styled Director-General to senior officials in the Presidency, including the Chief of Staff. "Nigerians are still watching in bewilderment the embarrassing spectacle of the so-called phantom Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, a government agency that officially did not exist, yet somehow operated at the highest level of government and conducted itself with the confidence of a legitimate institution," the statement read.
The ADC also pointed to a series of policy reversals by the administration, including the suspension of the Cybersecurity Levy after widespread public opposition and the withdrawal of the Expatriate Employment Levy following resistance from the business community. According to the party, the repeated reversals have weakened public confidence in government decisions. "A government that cannot consistently stand by its own decisions gradually loses not only credibility, but authority. Investors become uncertain. The bureaucracy becomes confused. Public institutions begin to test the limits because they no longer know whether today's directive will still exist tomorrow," the statement added.
The opposition party warned that uncertainty over the finality of presidential directives could undermine investor confidence, weaken public institutions and erode confidence in governance. It therefore urged the National Assembly to immediately exercise its oversight responsibilities by invoking the relevant constitutional provisions "to satisfy itself that the president remains fully capable in body and sound mind to discharge the duties of his office and that the powers vested in him by the Constitution are being personally exercised by him, not appropriated by unelected interests operating behind the scenes". The ADC demanded answers to what it described as constitutional questions surrounding the exercise of executive powers. "Who is exercising the constitutional powers of the President? Who authorises appointments? Who countermanded the President's directive at the BCDA, if indeed it has been countermanded? Who permitted a fictitious agency to masquerade as an arm of the Presidency? These are not opposition questions. They are constitutional questions," it said.
The party further stated that if President Tinubu is no longer able to assert authority over his administration, "the honourable course is to acknowledge that reality and resign". The ADC's call follows a series of controversies that have raised public debate over the consistency of appointments and policy implementation under the Tinubu administration. In recent months, the Federal Government has reversed or suspended several major policy decisions, including the proposed Cybersecurity Levy and the Expatriate Employment Levy, following widespread criticism from the public and business community. As of the time of filing this report, the Presidency and the National Assembly had not issued official responses to the ADC's allegations. However, the ADC's demand for a constitutional probe has added to the growing political pressure on the Tinubu administration as the 2027 general elections approach.
📩 Stone Reporters News | 🌍 stonereportersnews.com
✉️ info@stonereportersnews.com | 📘 Facebook: Stone Reporters News | 🐦 X (Twitter): @StoneReportNew | 📸 Instagram: @stonereportersnews
Add comment
Comments