The African Action Congress has dragged President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly before the Federal High Court in Abuja over the President’s prolonged stay in Europe, accusing him of failing to comply with the constitutional procedure governing presidential absence from Nigeria.
The suit, filed on Monday, came as AAC presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore claimed that Tinubu was currently in a hospital in France and would return to Nigeria after his discharge.
The claim could not be independently verified.
The Presidency, however, has maintained that Tinubu is hale and hearty and has been on a working vacation, insisting that the President has continued to discharge his duties from abroad.
Sowore, who spoke to journalists after the suit was filed at the Federal High Court, said the AAC had resolved to challenge Tinubu’s absence and involve the National Assembly in proceedings seeking his impeachment.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2358/2026, names Tinubu, the Attorney-General of the Federation, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, and the National Assembly as defendants.
The party is asking the court to declare that Tinubu violated Section 145(1) of the 1999 Constitution by leaving Nigeria on August 30 without transmitting a written declaration to the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives.
AAC is also challenging what it describes as the failure of the National Assembly to invoke the constitutional procedure concerning the Vice-President’s assumption of presidential functions after the President’s absence exceeded 21 days.
The party is seeking a perpetual injunction restraining Tinubu from embarking on future vacations without complying with the constitutional requirements.
The court has directed the defendants to enter appearance within 30 days of being served. No hearing date has been fixed.
Tinubu left Nigeria on August 30 for what the Presidency initially described as a three-week working vacation. He travelled first to London before moving to Paris, where the Presidency said he held meetings with French officials and investors.
On September 21, the Presidency announced that Tinubu had extended his stay by a few days and would return at the weekend. That return did not happen.
The controversy intensified after Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said on Sunday that Tinubu was “hale and hearty” and had continued working from abroad.
Onanuga argued that, in the digital age, the President did not need to be physically present in Abuja to discharge his responsibilities. He said Tinubu was expected back in Nigeria this week for activities marking the country’s 66th Independence Anniversary.
Reports have also indicated that Tinubu is expected to return to Nigeria on Tuesday, September 29, although the Presidency’s public position has been that he would return this week.
The President’s prolonged absence has meanwhile drawn questions from other opposition figures.
African Democratic Congress presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has questioned what was keeping Tinubu in France after the expiration of the initially announced three-week vacation.
Atiku also demanded clarification on whether a written declaration had been transmitted to the National Assembly regarding the President’s absence.
Peter Obi of the National Democratic Congress has similarly questioned Tinubu’s whereabouts and criticised his absence from the 81st United Nations General Assembly, where Vice-President Kashim Shettima led Nigeria’s delegation.
The Presidency has defended Shettima’s representation at the UNGA, saying the Vice-President was delegated by Tinubu to represent Nigeria at the gathering.
While in France, Tinubu was also linked by the Presidency to discussions surrounding a proposed $7bn Gateway Deep Sea Port and Blue Marine Special Economic Zone project in Ogun State.
The latest legal action has therefore shifted the controversy from opposition criticism of Tinubu’s absence to a court battle over whether the constitutional procedure for presidential absence was followed.
