Akwa Ibom government mistakenly calls Akpabio ‘Acting President of Nigeria’

The Akwa Ibom State Government on Tuesday called Senate President Godswill Akpabio the “Acting President of Nigeria” in a Facebook post during the welcome event for a new Airbus A220-300 aircraft for Ibom Air.

This statement appeared on the state government’s official Facebook livestream from the event at Victor Attah International Airport in Uyo. The post was later changed to remove the title.

The original post said: “Arrival of the Acting President of Nigeria, Sen. Dr. Godswill Akpabio, GCON, President of the Senate, Chairman of the National Assembly, at the Official Reception and Water Cannon Ceremony for the brand-new Airbus A220-300, as part of the activities commemorating the 39th Anniversary Celebration of Akwa Ibom State.”

Currently, President Bola Tinubu is in Europe for a three-week vacation. Vice President Kashim Shettima is also abroad to represent Tinubu at an African Union summit in Angola.

The Presidency said on 30 August that Tinubu left Abuja for Europe for his annual leave, starting in London. He is expected to return after his vacation to prepare for the 2027 elections.

Shettima left Abuja on 29 August for Luanda, Angola, to represent the president at the 21st Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union. He got back to Abuja on Monday, 31 August, after finishing his work in Angola.

Many Akwa Ibom residents on Facebook have been “celebrating” Akpabio as Nigeria's “acting president,” without explaining how they got such news. One Facebook user, Ima Utip, wrote, “Thank God our Senator Godswill Akpabio is the acting president…let’s build Ibom Deep Seaport.”

What the Constitution says

Section 145 of the Nigerian 1999 Constitution states that when the president goes on vacation or cannot perform his duties, he must send a written declaration to the Senate president and Speaker of the House of Representatives.

So far, the presidency has not publicly confirmed that Tinubu sent such a declaration to the National Assembly before leaving for his vacation.

Shettima’s brief absence also raises a constitutional question. Section 145 specifically names the vice president, not the Senate president, to take over the president’s duties when he is temporarily away.

The Constitution does not usually name the Senate president as acting president just because both the president and vice president are out of the country.

Section 146 of the Constitution says that the Senate president can only act as president when the president's office is vacant and the vice president's office is also vacant. This part talks about a vacancy, not a temporary absence from the country.

Given this, the Akwa Ibom government’s claim that Akpabio is acting president seems to go beyond what the law allows for a temporary absence of the president.

How the post came about

Akpabio, who was once the governor of Akwa Ibom State, was in Uyo on Tuesday for the welcome of Ibom Air’s new Airbus A220-300. This event is part of the activities celebrating the state’s 39th anniversary.

The anniversary program includes launching 39 projects across the state in September, and President Tinubu is expected to visit and open some of them.

The new aircraft, with registration 5N-CDC, was handed over to Ibom Air at the Airbus A220 final assembly facility in Mirabel, Canada, before arriving in Uyo. It is one of 10 aircraft ordered by former Governor Udom Emmanuel.

Akpabio was a key political figure in Akwa Ibom before becoming Senate president. He served as governor from 2007 to 2015 and then became a senator for Akwa Ibom North-West District.

The state government later changed the Facebook post to remove the mention of Akpabio as “Acting President of Nigeria.”

This change has raised questions about whether the original claim was a mistake or if there was a belief within the state government that he was acting in that role while Tinubu is away.

As of Tuesday evening, there was no public statement from the presidency explaining if Tinubu had sent a letter to the National Assembly before starting his vacation.

Akwa Ibom govt speaks

When asked on Tuesday night, the Commissioner for Information, Aniekan Umanah, first denied that the controversial post was ever made, insisting it did not happen.

But when our reporter mentioned having a screenshot of the post before it was edited, Umanah said it must have been an error by the social media team.

“I don’t know. Maybe somebody made a mistake. There’s nothing like that (acting president) in the country,” he said.

When asked more, he added, “Nobody authorized that (reference) here. Maybe the people typing may have made a mistake, but that cannot be the position of the state government.”