By Eshiorameh Sebastian in Abuja
The Office of the Vice President has issued a firm rebuttal against what it describes as a “gross misrepresentation” of remarks made by Vice President Kashim Shettima at a recent book launch in Abuja, insisting that President Bola Tinubu’s intervention in Rivers State was strictly constitutional and should not be conflated with past political crises under previous administrations.
In a statement released on Friday, Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, clarified that Shettima’s comments at the public presentation of OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Oil Block by Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN) were purely historical and had been “irresponsibly twisted” by certain media outlets.
“Some news outlets have sought to erect a highly mendacious argument by distorting the Vice President’s recollection of events during the Jonathan administration,” the statement read. “His remarks were made within the specific context of acknowledging the author’s past professional conduct and were never intended as commentary on current affairs.”
Shettima had referenced the political tensions between former President Goodluck Jonathan and state governors, including his own experience as Governor of Borno State during the peak of the Boko Haram insurgency. However, the Vice President’s office stressed that this was merely an “intellectual discourse on Nigeria’s constitutional evolution” and should not be misconstrued as a veiled critique of Tinubu’s recent actions in Rivers State.
“For the avoidance of doubt, President Tinubu did not remove Governor Fubara from office,” the statement emphasised. “The constitutional action taken was suspension, not outright removal, and was implemented alongside a state of emergency in response to the complete breakdown of public order in Rivers State.”
The Presidency argued that the crisis in Rivers had reached a point where federal intervention was unavoidable, citing “daily incidents of politically motivated violence, systematic attacks on federal institutions, and a total paralysis of governance.” It further noted that the situation had escalated to “attacks on national assets,” necessitating extraordinary measures under Section 305(1)(c) of the Nigerian Constitution, which permits emergency action in cases of severe public disorder.
“The President’s proclamation was properly invoked under Section 305(2) and subsequently ratified by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the National Assembly as mandated by Section 305(3),” the statement continued. “This broad consensus demonstrates that Rivers State had reached a constitutional threshold requiring immediate intervention.”
The statement dismissed any comparisons between Tinubu’s actions and the political struggles under Jonathan’s presidency, particularly the alleged attempts to remove opposition governors. “The North East under Jonathan faced violent non-state actors threatening Nigeria’s sovereignty, requiring military and political collaboration,” it said. “Rivers State’s crisis was a constitutional emergency, not a security war. The two scenarios are fundamentally different.”
It also condemned what it called “reckless endangerment of national cohesion” by those attempting to frame Shettima’s remarks as criticism of the Tinubu administration. “The Vice President’s speech was focused on the importance of public officials documenting their stewardship and the necessity of accountability in governance,” the statement read. “To wrench his words out of context for political sensationalism is deplorable.”
The Presidency reiterated its commitment to the rule of law and constitutional governance, affirming that Shettima remains “shoulder to shoulder with President Tinubu” in upholding democratic principles. It urged media organisations and political actors to “abandon the destructive practice of fabricating conflicts where none exist.”
The statement concluded with a warning against further misrepresentations: “This administration will not tolerate deliberate distortions aimed at undermining national unity. Those who seek to exploit historical references for divisive purposes will find no legitimacy in their false narratives.”
The clarification comes amid heightened political tensions in Rivers State, where the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the declaration of a state of emergency have sparked heated debate. While opposition figures and some civil society groups have criticised the move as excessive, the federal government maintains that its actions were lawful, necessary, and incomparable to past political disputes.
Shettima has been under fire after his comments at a book launch in Abuja yesterday where he said no president has the power to remove a constitutional elected person not even a local government councilor.
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