Shettima recalls courage of Tambuwal, Adoke to tell Jonathan “president has no power to remove a sitting Governor”

“This culture of accounting for our place in history shall remain our solemn pact until we draw our final breath. It is a duty that binds us to one another and to the generations yet unborn,” the VP added.

Vice President Kashim Shettima, on Thursday July 10, 2025, revealed how Aminu Tambuwal, former Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives and Mohammed Adoke, former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) prevailed on former President Goodluck Jonathan from removing him from Office as Governor of Borno State then.

Shettima, who was speaking at the public presentation of “OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Oil Block,” a memoir written by Mohammed Adoke, former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, noted that “their action cemented his relationship with Tambuwal and Adoke”.

According to Shettima, the former president, while seeking counsel on the appropriateness of such action had invited Aminu Tambuwal and Mohammed Adoke, who in their wisdom, guided former President Jonathan against such decisions.

“They told him that you do not have the powers to remove, even an elected Councillor from office as President”, Shettima said.

Shettima, speaking on the the book, called for transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s public service, urging former and current public officials to summon the courage to document their life and stewardship while in service.

He noted that public servants live under perpetual scrutiny, as life itself is a litigation with no end and no final adjournment in the pursuit of justice.

Recalling the highly litigious (Oil Prospecting Licence 245) OPL 245 deal, Shettima said the book serves as an access card to the next phase of hearings in the court of public opinion, just as he emphasised that public service must be remembered, scrutinised, and preserved as part of national history.

“Each of us who has had the privilege of serving this country owes the people an account of our stewardship. Our stories are not ours alone. They belong to the nation. They belong to history,” the vice president stated.

Adoke, in the 300-page book, revealed his ordeal in the hands of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s Administration over the OPL 245 transaction between Malibu Oil and Gas Limited, Shell and Eni, after serving as Attorney General of the Federation.

Adoke had in his book, recalled that he “inherited the agreement dating back to 2006”, but was directed to implement the deal when he assumed office.

Shettima, who commended Adoke for his decision to document his experience, described the culture of secrecy in Nigeria’s public institutions as a form of silence that must be broken.

“There is silence to preserve relationships. There is silence to protect secrets too delicate to disclose. And there is silence for memories we would rather forget. But as a generation of leaders, we must summon the courage to document our journeys,” he said.

Shettima also described Adoke’s personal reflections in the book as courageous, saying the former minister’s claim of being “bloodied but unbowed” would resonate with anyone who had walked the corridors of power in Nigeria.

“There is no doubt that those named in this book will tell their own side of the story. That, indeed, is how history finds its balance. Every witness must speak. Every accused person must speak. Every participant must speak.

“Life itself is a litigation with no end. There is no final adjournment in the pursuit of justice. There is no permanent discharge in the reckoning of history. We are always being summoned—not by a judge, but by conscience and by posterity”, he said.

He emphasised the need for public officials to see themselves as custodians of national memory, stressing that the importance of storytelling is not in perfection, but in the necessity of preserving the truth for future generations.

“The courts may close. The headlines may fade. The official records may be revised. But the conscience of a nation never adjourns. In that eternal courtroom, we are all on trial—not only for what we did, but for what we dared to remember. For what we dared to reveal. And for what we dared to pass on.

“This culture of accounting for our place in history shall remain our solemn pact until we draw our final breath. It is a duty that binds us to one another and to the generations yet unborn,” the VP added.

Speaking earlier, President Goodluck Jonathan, applauded the author’s wisdom, courage and doggedness in the face of intimidation, and blackmail, describing the public presentation of the book as a celebration of victory over deliberate persecution.

Jonathan also described the book as a vindication and a “victory over persecution” following Adoke’s victory, after years of legal battles and public scrutiny tied to the controversial OPL 245 oil block deal.

Jonathan, who was represented by Ayim Pius Ayim, former Senate President, cautioned politicians against recklessness and abuse of office, urging all public office holders to always commit to the virtues of justice, fairness and service to humanity.

He recalled that “shortly after my tenure ended in 2015, the succeeding government launched what many people saw as a manhunt against key officers of my administration,”

“The author of this memoir, Mr. Bello Adoke, was the Attorney-General of the Federation at that time. He was hunted across the globe. But today, he’s alive, he’s healthy, and he’s here to tell his story.”

Jonathan used the occasion to congratulate Bello Adoke, “for his doggedness”, saying, “I am pleased to join you in celebrating this victory.”

On his part, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, commended the commitment and hard work of the author in chronicling his account of stewardship as Attorney General of the Federation.

Governor Makinde noted that beyond contextualising the disputed OPL 245, the book x-rays broader issues of institutional, governance and justice framework in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, among others.

He said the public presentation of the book would, among other things, emphasise the need for policy reforms and the reinvigoration of the culture of documentation in public service which, according to him, are essential ingredients of national development.

The author of the book, and former Attorney General of the Federation, Adoke, in his remarks, said the motivation behind writing the book was not to denigrate any individual or group, but to set the records straight and provide insights into the issues surrounding the $1.3 billion Nigerian Oil Bloc transaction.

He said while he had forgiven the individuals and organisations that played active roles in the saga that caused significant damage to his person, family and business, he remains unwavering in his belief and commitment to the Nigerian project and its success.

Adoke called for holistic reforms in the Nigerian justice and public service systems to forestall a recurrence of his unfortunate experience.

He also expressed public forgiveness to those who had wrongly persecuted him, just as he called for the prosecution of security officials who use unethical tactics to extract force statements and falsify evidence , just to ensure that they convict their suspects.

Reuben Abati, Special Adviser to ex-President Jonathan on Media and Publicity, who reviewed the book, agreed with the author that the book is, indeed, therapeutic, stressing that the book actually needed to be written to set the records straight for posterity.

Nasir El- Rufai, former Kaduna State Governor, recalled how Adoke had persuaded former President Jonathan to concede defeat after the 2015 Presidential Election.

El- Rufai played a strong role during Buhari’s Administration, noting that Adokie actually did nothing wrong on tne OPL 245 case adding that “the book set the records straight and attempts to tell the story in it’s true perspectives. We can only apologies and learn from the mistakes.”