By Our Correspondent<\/p>\n
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) says officials of the Presidency must stop presenting technology as a substitute for the constitutional responsibilities attached to the office of the President of Nigeria.
\nHURIWA in statement signed by its national Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko said the Presidency\u2019s claim that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu does not need to be physically present in Abuja to perform his duties raises an important constitutional question that cannot be dismissed with references to digital communication.
\nThe association says modern technology allows presidents to communicate, receive briefings and conduct official business from different locations, but the existence of such technology does not remove the constitutional provisions governing presidential absence from Nigeria.
\nHURIWA urges the Presidency to explain clearly the constitutional status of the President during his current extended absence and whether the appropriate constitutional procedure for transmitting power has been followed.
\nThe association recalls that Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution provides a mechanism for the President to transmit a written declaration to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives whenever he is proceeding on vacation or is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office.
\nHURIWA says the same section provides a further constitutional mechanism where the President fails to transmit such a declaration after 21 days, allowing the National Assembly to pass a resolution mandating the Vice-President to perform the functions of the office as Acting President.
\nThe association therefore rejects any suggestion that the constitutional question of presidential absence can be settled simply by saying that the President can work from anywhere in the world.
\nHURIWA says the issue is not whether President Tinubu can receive documents, hold virtual meetings or communicate with officials while abroad.
\nThe issue is whether the constitutional requirements governing presidential absence have been respected.
\nHURIWA asks why President Tinubu would hesitate to transmit power to Vice-President Kashim Shettima when the Constitution provides for such an arrangement and the Vice-President was elected alongside him on the same presidential ticket.
\nThe association says temporary transfer of presidential functions in accordance with the Constitution should not be presented as a political crisis or an admission of weakness.
\nHURIWA says it is instead a constitutional safeguard designed to guarantee continuity of government and eliminate uncertainty over the exercise of executive authority when the President is unavailable.
\nThe association therefore calls on President Tinubu and his officials to place the full facts of his current absence before Nigerians and explain the constitutional steps taken regarding the discharge of presidential functions.
\nHURIWA also urges the Presidency to distinguish between a President being able to communicate remotely and the constitutional question of who is formally exercising presidential functions when the President is absent or unable to discharge those functions.
\nThe association says Nigerians are entitled to ask legitimate questions about the location and constitutional status of their President without being dismissed as uninformed or politically motivated.
\nHURIWA warns that public officials should not trivialise constitutional concerns by relying on technological advances or comparisons with other countries.
\nThe association says Nigeria has its own Constitution, and every holder of public office must operate within its provisions.
\nHURIWA therefore calls on President Tinubu to uphold the constitutional oath he took to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
\nThe association says physical presence is not the only issue; constitutional authority, accountability and continuity of government are equally fundamental.
\nHURIWA urges Nigerians, civil society organisations, lawyers and the National Assembly to continue scrutinising the constitutional implications of prolonged presidential absence and ensure that the provisions of Section 145 are fully respected.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Our Correspondent The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) says officials of the Presidency must stop presenting technology as a substitute for the constitutional responsibilities attached to the office of the President of Nigeria. HURIWA in statement signed by its national Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko said the Presidency\u2019s claim that President Bola […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15611,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18084"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18084\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18085,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18084\/revisions\/18085"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15611"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}