Chuks Okocha in Abuja

The Chairman of the National Caretaker Committee of the Labour Party (LP), Senator Nenadi Usman, has urged the presidency not to intimidate Vice President Kashim Shettima into denying or retracting the truth of what he said during a book launch in Abuja last week.

Shettima had at the launch of the book narrated how the former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoki and former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Senator Aminu Tambuwal told former President Goodluck Jonathan that he had no power to remove a governor from office or even a councillor.

In a statement by her Senior Special Adviser, Media, Ken Eluma Asogwa, Usman: ”At the public presentation of the book “OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Oil Block” authored by former Attorney General Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN) in Abuja on Thursday, Vice President Kashim Shettima made a remark that was as honest as it was instructive.

”He recounted how, in 2013, during the declaration of a state of emergency in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa states, both the then Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, and the AGF, Adoke stood firm in advising President Goodluck Jonathan that he lacked the constitutional powers to remove any elected officeholder, including a sitting governor.”

According to Usman, ”Vice President Shettima’s acknowledgment of that principled stance, particularly as it related to his own tenure as Governor of Borno State, was a refreshing demonstration of candour until a follow-up statement from his office attempted, rather clumsily, to distance his remarks from the current situation in Rivers State.”
Senator Usman further said, ”It is disingenuous for the Vice President’s handlers to pretend not to know that Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which governs the declaration of a state of emergency, has not changed since 2013. That section confers no power whatsoever on the President to remove a sitting governor under any guise, including the declaration of emergency rule.”

Accordingly, she said, ”We commend Vice President Shettima for his rare moment of honesty in drawing attention to what was clearly an unconstitutional act – the illegal removal of Governor Siminalayi Fubara earlier in March under the pretext of political chaos and breakdown of law and order by President Bola Tinubu.”
However, she stressed, What is deeply troubling is the speed and intensity with which the vice president has been compelled to walk back his words. The question must be asked: Who is intimidating the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria?

”If someone of Shettima’s level, armed with immunity from prosecution and other ancillary protections of his office, cannot freely express a factual opinion without being coerced into a retraction, then it is a damning reflection of the human rights climate under the current administration.

”Indeed, it is no surprise that Nigeria continues to plunge to the bottom of human rights rankings across Africa.
”We reiterate our appreciation to Vice President Shettima for speaking truth to power, even if only momentarily. But we strongly urge those pulling strings behind the scenes to cease from undermining the dignity of the office of the vice president.

”It is not only disrespectful to the man, but also to the institution he represents and to the Constitution he swore to uphold,” the LP national caretaker committee chairman stated.