- Shettima said Jonathan once raised his removal as Borno governor at FEC during Boko Haram insurgency.
- The vice-president praised Adoke for standing by his convictions during difficult political moments.
The Presidency on Friday clarified that Vice-President Kashim Shettima’s remarks at a recent event were unrelated to the political developments in Rivers State.
Shettima had spoken at the launch of a memoir written by a former attorney-general of the federation, Mohammed Adoke, titled OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Nigerian Oil Block.
During the speech, Shettima recounted an incident where former President Goodluck Jonathan allegedly considered removing him as Borno State governor.
He explained that the attempt was during the height of the Boko Haram insurgency in the north-east region.
According to him, the matter came up in a high-level political meeting during Jonathan’s administration.
“There are two gentlemen seated here. Certain decisions are taken in a very rare circle — the president, the vice-president, the senate president and the speaker of the house of representatives,” Shettima said.
“In one of such conclaves, former President Goodluck Jonathan, with whom we have sheathed the sword and have now recalibrated our relationship, was mooting the idea of removing this Borno governor.
“Aminu Tambuwal, the then speaker of the house of representatives, had the courage to tell the president, ‘Your Excellency, you don’t have the powers to remove an elected councillor.’
“The president was still not convinced. He mooted the idea again at the federal executive council,” he added.
He also commended Adoke for remaining principled in turbulent political times.
But reacting to the public interpretation of Shettima’s remarks, the Presidency said the comments had been taken out of context.
Stanley Nkwocha, the senior special assistant to the president on media and communications (office of the vice-president), described such media reports as inaccurate and inflammatory.
He said the vice-president’s comments were purely historical and not aimed at the current administration or the Rivers situation.
“It is an utter distortion to suggest that the vice-president was taking a swipe at President Tinubu,” Nkwocha said.
“Shettima’s narrative was a straightforward reflection on his tenure as governor during the insurgency.”
He noted that President Tinubu never removed Governor Siminalayi Fubara from office but merely approved a constitutional suspension.
Nkwocha said the decision followed due legal process as outlined in the 1999 Constitution.
“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,” he said.
He urged the media to refrain from manipulating Shettima’s statements for sensational headlines.
Nkwocha further advised political actors not to exploit the comments to sow discord within the federal administration.