VP Shettima didn’t criticize Tinubu in remarks at Adoke’s book launch – Presidency

By KEMI KASUMU

The DEFENDER reports – much as it might not go down well with the government as shown in the Nkwocha’s statement also shared by Bayo Onanuga, the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Information, – that Vice President Kashim Shettima shared a past experience only coinciding with what happened in Rivers under this joint government involving him and Tinubu, hence the media interpretations.

The Office of the Vice President in Nigeria says it has noted with stern concern the gross misrepresentation of the remarks made by its principal, Senator Kashim Shettima, during the public presentation of a book on Thursday July 10, 2025.

The book, “OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Oil Block,” authored by Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), a former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, was launched at the Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, with attendees cutting across political parties and economic communities.

Speaking on the occasion, Shettima, who eulogised Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai glowingly, told the audience how the author choose loyalty to the Constitution rather than to President Goodluck Jonathan, his appointer at the time, insisting that the president “has no power to remove an elected Local Government Chairman” let alone a sitting governor.

Since journalism is also about rightful interpretation of statement without distorting what is clearly understood as core intention of the owner, some media organisations in the country published reports presenting the vice president’s statement as criticising his principal, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, over his still controversial removal of Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, despite being told by legal experts that it was wrong.

But a statement by Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, Office of The Vice President, dated 11th July, 2025, countered the media reports he described as “irresponsibly twisted”.

According to Nkwocha, “Some news outlets have irresponsibly twisted the Vice President’s account of how the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan floated the idea of removing him from office, then as governor of Borno State, in the most intense and critical phase of insurgency in the North East region of the country.

“The sensational reporting disappointingly tried to erect a highly mendacious argument about the state of emergency declared in Rivers State and the subsequent suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara by His Excellency, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“We wish to state categorically that Vice President Shettima’s comments were made within the specific context of acknowledging the author’s past professional conduct during his tenure as Attorney General of the Federation. His remarks were historical references to events that occurred during the Jonathan administration, and constituted nothing more than an intellectual discourse on Nigeria’s constitutional evolution.

“This rare moment of retrospection was purely illustrative, intended to demonstrate how our constitutional democracy has matured within the capacity to resolve complex federal-state tensions through established legal mechanisms.

“For the avoidance of doubt, President Tinubu did not remove Governor Fubara from office. The constitutional action taken was suspension, and not outright removal. It was part of the measures implemented, including the state of emergency declared, in response to the grave circumstances surrounding the polity in Rivers State at the time. It is more so considering the unprecedented situation where the State House of Assembly complex was under demolition and the Governor was facing a looming threat of impeachment (outright removal from office) from the embattled members of the state legislature.

“This cannot be compared with the situation in the North East region under the Jonathan administration, where violent non-state actors were challenging the sovereignty of the Nigerian state and required collective action from the central government and subnationals to eliminate the terrorists. President Tinubu’s actions were taken within the constitutional framework and in consultation with relevant stakeholders to preserve democratic institutions and maintain peace in Rivers State.

“Our laws provide an explicit framework for comprehending these matters with the nuance they deserve. Section 305(1)(c) explicitly authorises measures to be taken when there is “a breakdown of public order and public safety in the federation or any part thereof to such extent as to require extraordinary measures to restore peace and security.”

“The steep descent into chaos in Rivers State had reached precisely this constitutional threshold, with daily incidents of politically motivated violence, systematic attacks on federal institutions, and complete paralysis of governance, creating conditions that no democratic society could reasonably tolerate. Worse still, it degenerated into attacks on national assets, according to credible security reports.

“President Tinubu followed the constitutional process with honest precision. The President’s proclamation properly invoked Section 305(2), which was subsequently ratified by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the National Assembly as mandated by Section 305(3).

“This broad cross-party consensus demonstrates the universal recognition among our elected representatives that Rivers State had reached a point of constitutional necessity that demanded immediate federal intervention.

“Therefore, to interpret Senator Shettima’s observations as commentary on current affairs represents either willful misinterpretation or ignorance of constitutional discourse. The Vice President’s speech was focused on the importance of public officials documenting their stewardship and the eternal nature of accountability in public service. His historical references were made to illustrate the principled positions taken by public servants in the past, not a criticism of government policies.

“So, the cynical attempt to distort academic commentary to appear as imagined criticism is not only deplorable but constitutes a reckless endangerment of our national cohesion. We emphasise that this administration remains unshakably united in its commitment to constitutional governance and the rule of law.

“Vice President Shettima stands shoulder to shoulder with President Tinubu in implementing these difficult but indispensable actions to safeguard our democracy. We implore media organisations and political actors to abandon the destructive practice of wrenching statements from their proper context to fabricate nonexistent conflicts.”

The DEFENDER reports – much as it might not go down well with the government as shown in the Nkwocha’s statement also shared by Bayo Onanuga, the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Information, – that Vice President Kashim Shettima shared a past experience only coinciding with what happened in Rivers under this joint government involving him and Tinubu, hence the media interpretations.