ADC Wants National Assembly to Check Tinubu's Ability to Lead

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has asked the National Assembly to use its constitutional powers to find out if President Bola Tinubu can still do his job. They claim the president has lost control of his government.

The opposition party also said that some unelected people might be using presidential powers without the knowledge of the elected president. This statement came out on Friday from the ADC's National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi. It follows a dispute over leadership at the Border Communities Development Agency (BCDA).

The ADC pointed out that if an official, who was reportedly removed by the president's order, is still in office and holding meetings, it raises serious questions. They want to know about the president's authority and the honesty of executive decisions.

"If the reports concerning the BCDA are true, then this is no longer about one disputed appointment. It is about something far more disturbing: who is actually in charge of the Nigerian presidency?" the party questioned.

They argued that if a presidential appointment or removal can be ignored without any consequences, Nigeria is not just facing administrative confusion. Instead, they said it points to a real struggle for control of the presidency.

The ADC believes that the BCDA issue is not a standalone matter. They see it as part of a bigger problem of confusion in the Tinubu government. They recalled the disagreement over the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council. They called it a “phantom” agency that acted at high government levels without any official legal status.

The party also mentioned several policy changes made by the government. They included the suspension of the Cybersecurity Levy after public outcry and the backtrack on the Expatriate Employment Levy after pushback from businesses. The ADC believes these repeated changes have hurt public trust in government decisions.

"A government that cannot consistently stand by its own decisions gradually loses not only credibility, but authority. Investors become uncertain. The bureaucracy becomes confused. Public institutions begin to test the limits because they no longer know whether today’s directive will still exist tomorrow," the statement added.

The ADC insisted that Nigerians deserve clear answers about who has the president's constitutional powers. They asked, "Who is exercising the constitutional powers of the president? Who authorizes appointments? Who countermanded the president’s directive at the BCDA, if indeed it has been countermanded? Who permitted a fictitious agency to masquerade as an arm of the presidency? These are not opposition questions. They are constitutional questions."

The opposition party warned that uncertainty over presidential directives could hurt investor confidence, weaken public institutions, and damage trust in governance. They called on the National Assembly to quickly take action by invoking the relevant constitutional powers.

They want the Assembly to ensure that the president is fully capable in body and sound mind to do his duties. They also want to confirm that the powers given to him by the Constitution are being used by him and not taken over by unelected people behind the scenes.

The party further stated that if President Tinubu can no longer control his administration, "the honourable course is to acknowledge that reality and resign."

This statement follows news about a leadership dispute at the BCDA. Conflicting claims arose over the agency’s leadership, despite earlier announcements from the presidency regarding appointments. This controversy has reignited public talks about the consistency of appointments and policy actions under the Tinubu administration.

In recent months, the Federal Government has changed or paused several major policy decisions, including the Cybersecurity Levy and the Expatriate Employment Levy, after facing criticism from citizens, business groups, and investors.