The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has sharply criticized the Presidency’s attempt to water down Vice President Kashim Shettima’s recent constitutional assertions, describing the clarification as “a mere attempt at political correctness.”
In a statement released on Friday by Bolaji Abdullahi, the party’s Interim National Publicity Secretary and Spokesperson, the ADC threw its full weight behind Shettima’s original comments, saying the Vice President was right to underscore the constitutional limitations of presidential power, particularly in removing elected officials.
“The truth must not be lost in the fog of political correctness,” the ADC stated. “The Vice President needs to stand by his forthright and courageous statement, which affirms that the President has no constitutional power to remove an elected councillor, not to talk of a sitting Governor.”
Citing historical precedent, the party recalled how former President Goodluck Jonathan respected constitutional boundaries in 2013 during a national security crisis, choosing not to oust Governor Shettima of Borno State despite pressures and political tension.
“In declaring a state of emergency in the affected states under these dire circumstances, President Jonathan recognised the limits of his constitutional powers and he respected it,” the ADC emphasized. “This is not just history. It is precedent.”
The party went further to urge President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to reinstate full democratic governance in Rivers State and cease all executive actions that run contrary to Nigeria’s constitutional provisions.
The development comes in the wake of a wave of reactions to Vice President Shettima’s remarks during the public presentation of “OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Oil Block”, a book authored by former Attorney General Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN). In his speech, Shettima recounted how President Jonathan had allegedly attempted to remove him from office as Borno State governor at the height of the Boko Haram insurgency — a move that was halted by senior legal minds in the Federal Executive Council.
“Former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan was floating the idea of removing this Borno governor,” Shettima said, referring to himself.
According to him, it was the then Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, who first reminded Jonathan of the constitutional order: “You don’t have the power to remove an elected councillor.”
Shettima revealed that Jonathan still pushed the idea to the Federal Executive Council, but was blocked by Attorney General Mohammed Adoke and other legal minds.
“Mr Mohammed Adoke told the president: ‘You do not have the power to remove a sitting governor,’” he said. “They sought the opinion of another SAN in the cabinet, Kabiru Turaki, who also said: ‘I am of the candid opinion of my senior colleagues.’ That was how the matter was laid to rest.”
However, the Vice President’s statement has stirred controversy, with many interpreting it as an indirect rebuke of Tinubu’s recent actions in Rivers State. In response, Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications (Office of the Vice President), issued a counterstatement denying any attack on President Tinubu.
Nkwocha claimed Shettima’s remarks were “misrepresented” and said the Vice President was merely making historical references.
“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,” the statement read.
“For the avoidance of doubt, President Tinubu did not remove Governor Fubara from office. The constitutional action taken was suspension, and not outright removal,” it added.
According to the Presidency, Tinubu’s intervention was necessitated by a breakdown of law and order, including the demolition of the State House of Assembly and threats of impeachment against Governor Fubara.
But many observers, including the ADC, remain unconvinced.
In March, Tinubu had declared a state of emergency in Rivers State during a national broadcast, ordering the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor Mrs. Ngozi Odu, and all members of the State House of Assembly for six months — a move that continues to stir constitutional debates.
The ADC’s position reinforces a growing pushback from civil society and opposition groups, who are demanding a return to constitutional order and a stop to what they describe as executive overreach in the handling of the Rivers State political crisis.