By Peter Dansu The Office of the Vice President has dismissed media reports suggesting that Vice President Kashim Shettima took a veiled sw...
By Peter Dansu
The Office of the Vice President has dismissed media reports suggesting that Vice President Kashim Shettima took a veiled swipe at President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the political crisis in Rivers State involving Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
In a statement issued on Friday, Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications (Office of the Vice President), described the reports as a “gross misrepresentation” of the Vice President’s comments at a public book launch in Abuja.
Shettima had spoken during the unveiling of “OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Oil Block,” authored by former Attorney-General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), at the Yar’Adua Centre on Thursday. While reflecting on past national events, Shettima referenced how the Goodluck Jonathan administration once considered removing him as Borno State Governor during the height of the Boko Haram insurgency.
However, some media outlets ran with interpretations that appeared to compare that episode to recent developments in Rivers State, where President Tinubu declared a state of emergency and Governor Fubara was suspended.
The Vice President’s Office swiftly refuted the comparison.
“His Excellency’s remarks were purely historical and academic,” the statement clarified. “He was acknowledging the professional conduct of the author during his time as AGF and making a broader point about how Nigeria’s constitutional democracy has evolved to handle complex federal-state relations.”
The statement stressed that Shettima’s reference had “absolutely nothing to do” with the Rivers State saga, calling the media interpretation “highly mendacious.”
Clarifying the government’s actions in Rivers, the presidency explained that Governor Fubara was never removed from office. Rather, he was suspended as part of a constitutional response to what it called a breakdown of public order, including politically motivated violence and attacks on federal assets.
The statement cited Section 305 of the Nigerian Constitution, which empowers the President to declare a state of emergency when public safety is under severe threat. The declaration, it added, was subsequently approved by the National Assembly, showing broad bipartisan support.
“There is simply no basis to compare the Boko Haram insurgency in the North East during the Jonathan era to the political unrest in Rivers State,” the presidency said. “The former involved armed non-state actors threatening national sovereignty, while the latter was a constitutional crisis requiring lawful intervention.”
The Vice President, the statement reiterated, is fully aligned with President Tinubu in preserving democratic stability and constitutional order. It also called on the media and political actors to avoid twisting public comments into imaginary feuds.
“Shettima’s message was simple: public office holders must document their stewardship. That’s all. To twist this into a narrative of internal division is not only misleading but dangerously irresponsible,” Nkwocha added.
The presidency concluded by reaffirming its commitment to constitutional governance and the rule of law, urging for responsible journalism and political maturity.
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