By Nwosa Hamilton
A recent comment made by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the book launch of a former Attorney General Mohammed Bello Adoke has ignited a fierce debate and reactions from Nigerians over constitutional governance and the rule of law in Nigeria, particularly in light of President Bola Tinubu’s emergency declaration in Rivers State.
During the launch of Adoke’s memoir, which details his experiences with the OPL 245 oil block controversy, Shettima while reflecting on a 2013 incident when then-President Goodluck Jonathan sought to remove him as governor of Borno State from office due to escalating insecurity in the North East, but was told in clear terms that he had no such powers under the constitution, not even an elected Councilor in an Local Government.
Shettima had explained how the move was constitutionally challenged by then-Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, and Adoke himself, who affirmed that the President lacked the consititutional authority to remove elected officials.
Shettima said: “I admire Mr Mohammed Bello Adoke fundamentally for his courage, his conviction, and his capacity to stand for what he believes in.
“He told the then President, ‘Mr President, you do not have the power to remove the Governor’.”
He noted that Jonathan’s plan was ultimately abandoned after legal and parliamentary resistance, a stark contrast to the current political climate.
The Vice President’s narrative has been interpreted as an indirect critique of Tinubu’s actions earlier this year, when he declared a state of emergency in Rivers State amid a power struggle between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and Nyesom Wike, a former governor of Rivers State and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
This emergency led to Fubara’s removal from office for an interim period of six in the first instance as announced by PresidentTinubu, a move many legal experts argue was unconstitutional.
Shettima’s remarks suggest a breach of constitutional norms, as the 2013 incident under Jonathan was thwarted by institutional checks, whereas Tinubu’s emergency declaration in Rivers State proceeded without similar resistance.
Following Shettima’s speech, many Nigerians have taken to their respective social media accounts to give their opinion.
Below are some reactions curated on social media;
“Kashim Shettima’s message today was clear, if I’m going down, we are going down together.”(@Galafi_Hamma)
“Vice President Shettima is indirectly telling President Tinubu that he lacks the power to remove a sitting governor and that the AGF also lacks the courage to tell the president he is wrong. The coming days will be interesting.” (@Theo Abu)
“VP Shettima’s statement today at the book launch was deliberate and a serious indictment of President Tinubu’s administration. He agreed with Tambuwal, that the president has no constitutional right to remove even a local councillor elected by the people.
Crisis in the villa.”(Rilwan_Ola01)
“Without using the actual words, VP Kashim Shettima has subtly disassociated himself from the lawlessness and total abuse of power by his Oga in Rivers.”(@SamuelOmogor)
