Presidency: Shettima Not Fighting Tinubu Over Fubara's Suspension - THISDAYLIVE

Published 10 hours ago• 10 minute read

*Shettima departs Abuja for Sao Tome today

Deji Elumoye and Chuks Okocha in Abuja

The Presidency yesterday clarified that Vice President Kashim Shettima has no issue with President Bola Tinubu over the six months suspension slammed on Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State in March, this year.
It also justified the action taken by the President to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State, saying constitutional steps were duly followed before arriving at that decision to forestall breakdown of law and order in the oil-rich state.

This was as the African Democratic Congress (ADC) called Tinubu to listen to the comments of his Shettima, over his lack of constitutional power to remove a Governor from office, imploring him to go ahead to reinstate Fubara.
The ADC said it stands with the Vice President that a President cannot remove a governor from office, asking the presidency to differentiate what changed between 2013 and 2025. Noting that Nigeria was not running a monarchy, the ADC charged the President to do the right thing by apologising to the country and restoring the democratic structures earlier dismantled by the President last March.
The ADC in a statement issued by the Interim National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, urged Tinubu to reflect on the comment by Shettima.

However, Shettima will today depart the nation’s capital, Abuja, for the city of Sao Tome, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, to represent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at that country’s 50th National Independence Day celebration.

Reacting to misrepresentation of Vice President’s remarks on Thursday at the launch of the book ‘OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Oil Block’ written by former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), in Abuja, the Presidency in a statement issued by Media Aide to the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, stated that certain online news outlets and individuals have distorted the Vice President’s comments in pursuit of a mischievous agenda, twisting his account of how the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan considered removing him from office—then as Governor of Borno State—at the height of the insurgency in the North-east region.

The Presidency explained that the Vice President’s remarks were stripped of their proper context.
It maintained that Shettima’s comments were made within the context of acknowledging the author’s professional conduct during his tenure as Attorney General of the Federation.
It further stressed that President Tinubu never removed Rivers Governor, Fubara, from office but only suspended him for six months in line with provisions of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (As Amended).

The presidential release entitled: ‘No Link Between Shettima’s Remarks At Book Launch And Certain Online Reports’, stated inter alia: “The Office of the Vice President has noted with serious concern the gross misrepresentation of remarks made by Vice President Kashim Shettima, during the public presentation of the book ‘OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Oil Block’ by Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), held at the Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, on Thursday, July 10, 2025.

“Certain online news outlets and individuals have distorted the Vice President’s comments in pursuit of a mischievous agenda, twisting his account of how the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan considered removing him from office—then as Governor of Borno State—at the height of the insurgency in the North-east region.

“This sensational reporting, which strips the Vice President’s remarks of their proper context, ventures into fiction by drawing false equivalence between his personal experience and the state of emergency declared in Rivers State, as well as the subsequent suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara by President Bola Tinubu.

“We wish to state categorically that Vice President Shettima’s comments were made within the context of acknowledging the author’s professional conduct during his tenure as Attorney General of the Federation—a tribute to his public service record.

“His remarks were historical references to events during the Jonathan administration and were intended as a discourse on Nigeria’s constitutional evolution. They served to highlight how complex federal-state tensions have been managed through legal mechanisms and the country’s progress in that regard.
“For the avoidance of doubt, President Tinubu did not remove Governor Fubara from office. The constitutional measure implemented was a suspension, not an outright removal. This action, along with the declaration of a state of emergency, was taken in response to the grave political crisis in Rivers State at the time. The situation was unprecedented, with the State House of Assembly complex under demolition and the Governor facing a looming threat of impeachment by aggrieved members of the legislature. No objective observer can deny that this decisive intervention by the President brought stability and calm to Rivers State.

“This situation is not comparable to that of the North-east under the Jonathan administration, where violent non-state actors were directly challenging the sovereignty of the Nigerian state, demanding unified action by both federal and state authorities to confront terrorism.
“In contrast, President Tinubu acted strictly within constitutional limits and in consultation with relevant stakeholders to preserve democratic institutions and restore order in Rivers State.

“Nigeria’s laws provide a clear framework for addressing such matters. Section 305(3)(c) of the Constitution authorises extraordinary measures 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 situation in Rivers State clearly met this constitutional threshold, with persistent politically motivated violence, systematic attacks on federal institutions, and near-complete paralysis of governance—conditions intolerable in any democratic society.”

According to credible security reports, these acts even escalated into attacks on national assets.
“President Tinubu acted with constitutional fidelity. His proclamation invoking Section 305(2) was ratified by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the National Assembly, as required by Section 305(3).
“This cross-party consensus in suspending the government of Rivers State, led by Sim Fubara, reflects a shared understanding among our elected representatives that the situation had reached a point of constitutional necessity, requiring immediate federal intervention.

“Clearly, without mincing words, the action of President Tinubu in suspending Mr. Fubara and others from exercising the functions of office averted the Governor’s outright removal. To conflate suspension with removal is misleading. Therefore, interpreting Senator Shettima’s remarks as commentary on current events is either a wilful misrepresentation or a deliberate neglect of constitutional context.
“The Vice President, speaking extemporaneously, focused on the importance of public officials documenting their stewardship and on the enduring principle of accountability in public service. His historical references were made to illustrate the principled stands taken by past public servants, as well as his personal ties to Mohammed Bello Adoke and former Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal. His remarks were not in any way a criticism of President Tinubu’s actions, which the Vice President and the entire administration fully support and stand by without reservation.

“Vice President Shettima stands in loyal concert with President Tinubu in implementing these difficult but necessary actions to safeguard our democracy. We urge media organisations and political actors to desist from the destructive practice of wrenching statements from context in order to fabricate nonexistent conflicts.”

Following Shettima’s comments, the ADC has called on the President to immediately restore democratic rule in Rivers State.

The ADC statement read: “This simple truth, which is anchored in the Nigerian Constitution, must not be lost in the fog of political correctness that is currently emanating from Aso Rock.

”Truth does not respect political correctness, because what is wrong is wrong. What made the removal of an elected governor wrong and unconstitutional under President Jonathan in the case of Borno State, is the same that makes it wrong and unconstitutional under President Tinubu in the case of Rivers State.

“The only thing that has changed is that while one president held the constitution as sacrosanct and inviolable, another feels it could be manipulated to suit narrow political interests.

“In recounting his own ordeal under the Jonathan administration, the Vice President reminded Nigerians that when the idea of removing him as Borno State governor was floated, the then Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, stood his ground and told the President that he had no power to remove even an elected councilor.

“According to Vice President Shettima, Tambuwal’s position was reaffirmed by the Attorney General at the time, Mohammed Bello Adoke, who also told President Jonathan that the President of Nigeria does not have the power under the constitution to remove an elected governor from office.

“This is not just history. It is a precedent. But unlike Jonathan, who has been widely acclaimed as a respecter of the law, President Tinubu chose to disregard the very laws he swore to uphold and tread the path of unconstitutionality in Rivers State. The suspension of a duly elected governor is not just unconstitutional, it is also authoritarian, and a dangerous precedent if allowed to persist even for a single more day.

”The ongoing executive overreach—fuelled by narrow political interests— indeed poses a grave threat to Nigeria’s democracy and federalism. Nigeria is not a monarchy. The powers of the President are not absolute. They are bound by law, tempered by precedent, and subject to public accountability.

“For avoidance of doubts, the breakdown of law and order that the presidency has deployed as pretext to overthrow democratic order in Rivers State is nothing compared with the rampaging scourge of Boko Haram that abducted more than 200 school girls in Chibok, Borno State, slaughtered school boys in Buni Yadi, Yobe State and challenged the very sovereignty of Nigeria. Yet, in declaring a state of emergency in the affected states under these dire circumstances, President Jonathan recognised the limits of his constitutional powers and he respected it.

”This was the truth that the Vice President reminded us of at the Book Launch of former Attorney General, Mohammed Bello Adoke on Thursday. It was not faux pas, it was not Freudian slip, it was the truth anchored on the facts of history,” the ADC stated.

The statement from ADC further said, “In this regard, the ADC therefore calls on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immediately restore democratic governance in Rivers State, cease all illegal interference in the affairs of the state, and halt the unconstitutional actions that have upended democratic rule in that state. We further demand that the President tenders an unreserved apology to the Nigerian people for this abuse of power and the blatant disregard for constitutional order that has played out under his watch.

“The ADC will continue to stand with the Nigerian people in defence of democracy, justice, and constitutionalism.”

In a release issued on yesterday by the Media Aide to the Vice President, Nkwocha, Shettima will join other leaders across Africa and beyond at the grand finale of activities marking the Golden Jubilee of the Central African Island nation’s independence.

The grand finale of the National Independence Day celebration will feature official speeches, parades, cultural performances, and traditional dances, all reflecting the nation’s rich heritage and unity.
Nigeria and São Tomé and Príncipe share a strong bilateral relationship, particularly focused on joint resource development in the Gulf of Guinea.

This partnership is formalised through the Nigeria-São Tomé and Príncipe Joint Development Authority (NSTPJDA), which manages the Joint Development Zone (JDZ).
Beyond resource management, Nigeria has also provided various forms of assistance to São Tomé and Príncipe, including technical aid, donations, and support during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Vice President is expected back in Abuja after his engagement in Sao Tome.

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