The Senate has rejected calls for the National Assembly to reconvene over President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s prolonged stay outside Nigeria, saying there is no justification for an emergency sitting.
Senator Yemi Adaramodu, spokesperson for the Senate and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, said the legislature would not be distracted by political arguments surrounding the President’s foreign trip.
Adaramodu, who represents Ekiti South Senatorial District, said there was no basis for the National Assembly to immediately suspend its recess over Tinubu’s absence from the country.
“There is no reason for such a call,” Adaramodu said when asked whether the Senate should immediately reconvene over Tinubu’s absence.
His comments followed a fresh demand by some serving federal lawmakers under the Save Democracy Group for the Senate and House of Representatives to reconvene and examine whether Tinubu complied with the constitutional requirements governing a President’s absence from the country.
The lawmakers based their demand on Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution, which outlines the procedure to be followed when the President proceeds on vacation or is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office.
The controversy followed Tinubu’s departure from Nigeria on August 30 for what the Presidency described as a three-week working vacation in Europe. The Presidency subsequently announced on September 21 that the President had extended his stay abroad by a few days and was expected to return to Nigeria at the weekend.
The extension of the President’s stay prompted questions from some lawmakers over whether the constitutional procedure relating to presidential absence had been complied with.
Members of the Save Democracy Group called on the leadership of the National Assembly to clarify whether Tinubu had transmitted the required written declaration to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.
The lawmakers argued that if the declaration had been transmitted, the leadership of both chambers should make the information public.
They also maintained that if no declaration was transmitted within the period prescribed by the Constitution, the National Assembly should consider the provisions of Section 145(2).
The demand came as the initially announced 21-day period of Tinubu’s working vacation elapsed.
Adaramodu, however, maintained that the matter did not justify the National Assembly abandoning its recess for an emergency sitting.
According to him, the legislature should concentrate on its lawmaking responsibilities instead of responding to every political statement or demand from politicians and civil society organisations.
“Some of these civil society organisations, they are citing Section 145, where some people are playing politics. The National Assembly is not a political platform. It’s a lawmaking platform,” he said.
The senator also referred to earlier comments by Senate President Godswill Akpabio regarding Tinubu’s absence from the country.
Akpabio had addressed the issue during an event in Akwa Ibom State, where he inaugurated road projects executed by Governor Umo Eno.
The Senate President dismissed suggestions that Nigeria was operating without a President because Tinubu was outside the country.
“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.
Akpabio also maintained that Tinubu could continue to direct the affairs of government while outside the country.
The Presidency has similarly maintained that the President remained in contact with government officials in Nigeria and continued to conduct official business during his working vacation. The official announcement concerning the extension of his stay said Tinubu had travelled from London to Paris, where he held engagements before extending his trip.
The Save Democracy Group, however, has maintained that the central issue is not whether the President can communicate with government officials from outside Nigeria, but whether the constitutional procedure governing his absence was followed.
Adaramodu, for his part, argued that the President’s physical location should not, on its own, determine whether he is performing his official duties.
“It is not geography; it is functionality,” he said. “It is your functionality that dictates whether you are performing your duties or you are not performing your duties. It’s not your GPS.”
The senator said political actors were free to raise issues they considered important, particularly as the country moves closer to another election cycle, but maintained that the National Assembly would not convert every political argument into parliamentary business.
“It is the business of politicians to talk,” Adaramodu said.
He added that the National Assembly was preparing to resume legislative activities, saying the Senate would return on September 29.
Adaramodu said the October 1 Independence Day public holiday would not prevent lawmakers from returning to their legislative responsibilities.
He explained that the National Assembly routinely adjusts its schedule around public holidays and that lawmakers would continue carrying out their duties.
The senator also questioned the attention being directed at the National Assembly’s recess, noting that other arms of government also observe vacation periods.
“They went on holidays in July, and they resumed in September. Nobody is talking about it. That is the judiciary,” he said.
Adaramodu acknowledged that lawmakers would naturally face public scrutiny because of their roles as elected representatives.
“We are representatives of the people,” he said. “They have the right to be interested in our affairs.”
He nevertheless maintained that the debate surrounding Tinubu’s absence would not affect the legislative calendar.
“We have a lot to do before us rather than listening to insinuations about operations and all these things from random politicians,” Adaramodu concluded.
