By Abiola Olawale
The Office of the Vice President has
debunked claims that Vice President Kashim Shettima’s remarks at a recent book launch were directed at President Bola Tinubu’s of suspension of Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara following protracted crisis in the oil-rich State.
The Presidency described the media reports as a “gross misrepresentation” of Shettima’s comments, stressing that they were historical reflections, not commentary on current political developments.
It would be recalled that Shettima while speaking at the public presentation of OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Oil Block by former Attorney-General Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN) on Thursday, July 10, 2025, at the Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja, had narrated his experience as Borno State governor during former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.
He had disclosed that Jonathan had considered removing him from office amid the Boko Haram insurgency but was advised against the move by Adoke and then-House of Representatives Speaker Aminu Tambuwal, who cited lack of constitutional authority by the president of Nigeria to remove an elected governor or even an elected Councilor.
Reacting to the barrage of reactions on the speech, the Vice President’s office, through a statement by Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, claimed that Shettima’s remarks were purely academic and focused on Nigeria’s constitutional evolution.
He clarified that Shettima’s remarks were in the context of acknowledging Adoke’s role as a public official and did not amount to commentary on current political events.
The statement reads in part: “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.”
