The Presidency on Sunday denied the cancellation of Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo’s planned trip to India for fear that the embattled President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, may become acting President.
An online news medium, Sahara Reporters, had reported that Osinbajo’s planned trip was cancelled when it was discovered that President Muhammadu Buhari would also be out of the country at the time.
The report had insinuated that the Vice-President’s trip was called off in order to ensure that Saraki, who is the third in hierarchy in the country, did not emerge acting President in the absence of Buhari and Osinbajo.
A source in the Presidency, said, who pleaded anonymity, told our correspondent that it was an unwritten rule that the President and Vice President could not be outside the country at the same time.
The source said it was wrong to think that cancelling Osinbajo’s trip had anything to do with Saraki, adding that the unwritten rule preceded the present administration.
Besides, he said if he had embarked on the trip, the Vice-President would have returned to Nigeria latest by Wednesday, stating that Buhari, who is travelling to Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, is scheduled to return on Tuesday.
“If the President is travelling on Monday and will return on Tuesday, how many hours are you expecting Saraki to begin to wield the powers of a President?” he said.
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