ABUJA, Nigeria – The Nigeria Democratic Congress has strongly condemned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s physical absence from the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, describing his failure to attend the world’s foremost summit of sovereign heads of state for three consecutive years as an unconstitutional dereliction of duty that has inflicted severe diplomatic and economic costs on the country, political correspondents reported from the party’s national secretariat in Abuja on Monday afternoon, September 28, 2026.
In a strongly worded national press statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary of the NDC, Osa Director, Esq., the opposition party expressed alarm over what it characterized as an unexplained absence from the country spanning more than three weeks, accusing the presidency of running an unaccountable administration while leaving the machinery of state on autopilot.
Okay News reports that the NDC argued that President Tinubu’s prolonged stay in Europe without formally notifying the federal legislature constitutes a direct violation of Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), which mandates the President to transmit a written declaration to the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives whenever proceeding on vacation or otherwise unable to discharge executive functions.
“Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution is clear: when the President is proceeding on vacation or is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, he shall transmit a written declaration to the National Assembly,” Director stated on behalf of the party. “President Tinubu left Nigeria on August 30th, extended his stay in Paris indefinitely, and never formally transmitted power. Nigeria was left adrift — no president at home, no president at the UN. Why is the president always afraid of transmitting a written declaration to the National Assembly? At some point, the country was on autopilot with the absence of the president, vice president, and senate president from the country.”
The opposition party faulted the narrative earlier promoted by Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim, who had publicly suggested that the President would attend the assembly and sit in close proximity to United States President Donald Trump, only for the State House to announce on September 20 that Vice President Senator Kashim Shettima had been mandated to lead the Nigerian delegation.
Analyzing the strategic fallout of the President’s non-attendance, the NDC maintained that bilateral engagements at the United Nations General Assembly cannot be effectively substituted by administrative proxies, noting that direct foreign investment agreements, debt forgiveness concessions, and multilateral security treaties are sealed through direct presidential diplomacy.
“UNGA is not a jamboree for 15-minute speeches,” the party remarked. “It is where presidents look other presidents in the eye, sign off on concrete decisions, secure direct foreign investment, negotiate debt relief, climate finance, and security cooperation. While over 130 heads of state were present for direct presidential-level bilateral talks, Nigeria sent a proxy. Investors do not sign billion-dollar deals with proxies. You cannot outsource presidential diplomacy.”
The NDC contrasted Nigeria’s empty presidential seat with the performance of Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama, whom the party credited with delivering a statesmanlike defense of African interests on debt justice, climate reparations, and multilateral equity, asserting that while Ghana commanded global respect, Nigeria remained voiceless at the apex executive level.
Dismissing the defense that the President could not travel to New York merely to deliver a brief address, Director described the argument as reflective of a basic misunderstanding of global statecraft, maintaining that the actual business of the United Nations is conducted during high-level corridor diplomacy outside the plenary hall.
The statement comes less than 24 hours after the Presidency dismissed criticisms from NDC presidential candidate Peter Obi, with the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, maintaining that President Tinubu is hale and hearty, operating effectively from Europe in a digital age, and finalizing landmark transactions including a $7 billion deep-sea port deal in Ogun State before returning home to observe Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary.
Unmoved by the Presidency’s explanations, the NDC issued three definitive demands, insisting on the immediate full disclosure of the President’s location and health status, strict future adherence to Section 145 transmission protocols, and a decisive end to governance by executive delegation, declaring that a nation of over 200 million citizens deserves an accountable and physically present head of state.
