‘No Vacancy in Aso Rock’: Akpabio Defends Tinubu as President Remains Abroad

The debate over President Bola Tinubu’s prolonged absence from Nigeria has moved from social media and opposition criticism into the centre of the country’s political conversation.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio has now entered the debate, insisting that there is “no vacancy” in the presidency and that Tinubu remains in charge of the country.

Akpabio spoke on Tuesday in Akwa Ibom while commissioning road projects executed by Governor Umo Eno.

His comments came as Vice President Kashim Shettima represented Tinubu at the opening of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Why the absence has become political

Tinubu left Nigeria on August 30 for an extended working vacation in Europe. The Presidency has maintained that the President continued official engagements during the trip.

The Presidency also confirmed that Shettima would lead Nigeria’s delegation to the UN General Assembly and deliver the country’s national statement on Thursday, September 24.

The issue, therefore, is not simply whether the government has continued to function. It is whether the President’s prolonged physical absence, combined with the decision not to formally transfer presidential powers, should generate concern about the symbolism and constitutional expectations surrounding executive authority.

That distinction has become central to the argument.Akpabio’s position

Akpabio rejected the suggestion that the country is being left without effective leadership. He also made clear that he is not acting president.

The Presidency has similarly argued that Tinubu remains engaged with affairs of state and that Shettima’s representation at the UN is part of the administration’s established delegation arrangements.

But the controversy has not disappeared.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticised the arrangement, arguing that Nigeria should not effectively be governed through presidential communications while the President remains abroad without a formal transfer of power.

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The bigger question

The disagreement is therefore becoming a test of how Nigerians understand executive continuity.

Supporters of the administration point to the President’s continuing official engagements and the Vice President’s functioning role at the UN.

Critics are asking a different question: whether prolonged physical absence should trigger a clearer formal arrangement to eliminate uncertainty.

For now, Akpabio’s message is unequivocal. There is no vacancy in Aso Rock, he says.

But the political argument over how presidential authority should operate when the President is away is unlikely to end with that declaration. ValidViewNetwork reports.