Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
The African Action Congress has dragged President Bola Tinubu, the National Assembly and the Attorney-General of the Federation before the Federal High Court in Abuja over the President’s alleged failure to notify the National Assembly before embarking on a month-long vacation in Europe, in a suit that tests the constitutional limits of presidential absence from office.
The party, in an originating summons filed on Monday, September 28, 2026, asked the court to declare that Tinubu breached Section 145(1) of the 1999 Constitution by leaving Nigeria without transmitting a written declaration to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, according to Punch. The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2358/2026, listed Tinubu, the AGF, the Senate President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the National Assembly as defendants. The AAC claimed that Tinubu left Nigeria for Europe on August 30, 2026, and remained there as of the date the suit was filed.
The party is seeking a declaration that, by the express provisions of Section 145(1) of the Constitution, the President is mandated to compulsorily transmit a written declaration to the Senate President and the Speaker before proceeding on vacation for any number of days. The AAC also wants the court to declare that the alleged failure to transmit the declaration before the trip was undemocratic and a gross violation of the Constitution. The party further challenged the National Assembly’s alleged failure to convene and pass a resolution authorising Vice-President Kashim Shettima to act as President after Tinubu had spent more than 21 days on vacation, asking the court to hold that the failure to act was unlawful, unconstitutional and a violation of the mandatory duty imposed on the National Assembly under Section 145(2).
The suit also seeks an order of perpetual injunction restraining Tinubu from embarking on any future vacation, whether within or outside Nigeria, without first transmitting the required written declaration to the Senate President and the Speaker. The originating summons directs the defendants to enter an appearance within 30 days of service, warning that failure to do so could lead to such orders and proceedings as the court may consider just and expedient. The suit was filed by Inibehe Effiong of Inibehe Effiong Chambers, counsel to the AAC. No date has been fixed for hearing.
A separate report by The Point NG indicated that the suit was filed by the National Legal Adviser of the AAC and Lagos-based human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, and marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2353/2026. In a 30-paragraph affidavit deposed to by the National Secretary of the AAC, Mr. Oshiokhue Philip Ikpeminoghena, the party said Tinubu travelled out of the country on vacation on August 30, 2026, and announced an extension of his vacation on September 21, 2026, without offering any cogent reason. The affidavit stated that the Senate President, Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio, instead of discharging his constitutional duties, announced that he had gone to the Prayer Ground of St. Padre Pio in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy, to pray for the country. The 2027 presidential candidate of the party, Omoyele Sowore, was in court to witness the filing of the suit.
The legal action comes amid a broader constitutional debate over the President’s extended absence. Section 145(1) of the 1999 Constitution provides that whenever the President proceeds on vacation or is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, he shall transmit a written declaration to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Upon transmission of that declaration, the Vice-President performs the functions of the President as Acting President until the President transmits a declaration to the contrary. Section 145(2) provides that where the President fails to transmit the declaration within 21 days, the National Assembly may, by a simple majority of each chamber, mandate the Vice-President to perform the functions of the President as Acting President.
The AAC’s suit is the latest in a series of legal and political challenges to the President’s absence. A Lagos-based lawyer, Festus Ogun, announced plans to file a separate suit at the Federal High Court in Lagos challenging what he described as a constitutional breach arising from Tinubu’s prolonged stay outside Nigeria. Some members of the House of Representatives under the Save Democracy Group have called on the National Assembly to reconvene and determine whether Tinubu complied with the constitutional requirement to notify the legislature of his absence. The Labour Party has questioned the legality of the President’s extended working vacation, describing the concept of a “working vacation” as contradictory and contrary to the intent of the framers of the Constitution.
The Presidency has consistently maintained that Tinubu remains fully in charge of the country’s affairs and that his powers are not limited by geography. The Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, said in September that the power of the President to govern Nigeria is not limited to geography and that, as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, he can order, direct, delegate and administer the constitution anywhere in the world. Senate President Godswill Akpabio also dismissed concerns, insisting that there is no vacancy in Aso Rock and that Tinubu remains firmly in charge. However, the Presidency has not disclosed whether the required written declaration was transmitted to the National Assembly, and opposition figures have demanded that any such letter be published.
The political stakes of the suit are considerable. The 2027 general elections are scheduled for January 16, with the governorship and state assembly elections following on February 6. President Tinubu is seeking a second term on the All Progressives Congress platform, while former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress and former Anambra Governor Peter Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress are among the major challengers. Sowore, who is the AAC’s presidential candidate, has also alleged that Tinubu is hospitalised overseas and announced plans to demand impeachment proceedings against him. The Presidency has described such claims as baseless. For now, the AAC has placed its case before the Federal High Court, and the coming weeks will determine whether the court accepts jurisdiction and how it interprets the constitutional provisions at the heart of the dispute.
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