Why Akwa Ibom’s ‘Acting President’ Post On Akpabio Sparked Constitutional Debate
By OFFIONG ARCHIBONG
Akwa Ibom Govt Deletes ‘Acting President’ Description for Akpabio
THE Akwa Ibom State Government has deleted a Facebook post describing Senate President Godswill Akpabio as the “Acting President of Nigeria.”
The description appeared on the state government’s official Facebook livestream on Tuesday during the reception of Ibom Air’s new Airbus A220-300 aircraft at the Victor Attah International Airport in Uyo.
The post was later edited after it generated attention on social media.
Controversial Description
The original post introduced Mr. Akpabio as the “Acting President of Nigeria” and also identified him as the President of the Senate and Chairman of the National Assembly.
The Senate President was in Uyo for the official reception and water-cannon ceremony for Ibom Air’s latest aircraft.
The event formed part of activities marking Akwa Ibom State’s 39th anniversary.
However, the description raised questions because President Bola Tinubu was outside Nigeria on annual leave while Vice President Kashim Shettima was also away from the country.
Tinubu, Shettima Outside Nigeria
The Presidency announced on 30th August that President Tinubu had left Abuja for a three-week vacation in Europe.
London was listed as his first destination. The Presidency said he was expected to return after the holiday and participate in activities ahead of the 2027 elections.
Vice President Shettima had earlier travelled to Luanda, Angola, to represent the President at the 21st Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union.
Mr. Shettima returned to Abuja on Monday 31 August, after completing his engagements in Angola.
The simultaneous absence of the President and Vice President subsequently fuelled speculation on social media about who was exercising presidential functions.
What the Constitution Provides
Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, provides for the President to transmit a written declaration to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives when proceeding on vacation or when otherwise unable to discharge the functions of office.
The provision also addresses the temporary performance of presidential functions during such an absence.
However, there was no public announcement as of Tuesday evening confirming that President Tinubu had transmitted such a declaration to the National Assembly before leaving the country.
The Constitution does not automatically make the Senate President Acting President simply because both the President and Vice President are temporarily outside Nigeria.
Section 146 deals with a different circumstance. It provides for the Senate President to assume the office of President where the offices of both President and Vice President become vacant.
That provision concerns a vacancy in office rather than a temporary absence from the country.
Akwa Ibom Govt Calls Post an Error
The state government subsequently distanced itself from the description.
When contacted, Commissioner for Information Aniekan Umanah initially denied that the controversial reference had appeared on the government’s platform.
After being informed that a screenshot of the original post was available, however, he attributed the description to an error by the social media handler.
“I don’t know. Maybe somebody made a mistake,” Mr. Umanah said.
He added that there was “nothing like that” in the country and insisted that nobody in the state government had authorised the reference.
The commissioner maintained that the description could have resulted from an error by the personnel responsible for typing the social media material.
Akpabio’s Political Connection to Akwa Ibom
Akpabio remains a prominent political figure in Akwa Ibom.
He served as the state’s governor from 2007 to 2015 before becoming a senator representing Akwa Ibom North-West District.
He later emerged as President of the Senate.
His appearance at the Ibom Air event was therefore significant to the state, which was celebrating its anniversary while showcasing the latest addition to its state-owned airline.
The new aircraft, registered as 5N-CDC, was handed over to Ibom Air at the Airbus A220 final assembly facility in Mirabel, Canada, before arriving in Uyo.
It is part of 10 aircraft ordered under the administration of former Governor Udom Emmanuel.
Questions Remain
Although the state government has described the Facebook wording as an error, the incident has highlighted wider public interest in Nigeria’s constitutional succession arrangements.
The immediate controversy centres on whether the phrase was simply a social media mistake or reflected a misunderstanding of the constitutional position during the President’s absence.
For now, the Akwa Ibom government has made clear that it does not regard Akpabio as Acting President.
The original reference has also been removed from the government’s Facebook post.
