The Office of the Vice President has strongly discredited claims circulating in some online media outlets that link recent remarks by Vice President Kashim Shettima to current political developments in Rivers State. The Presidency described such reports as a “gross misrepresentation” and “mischievous distortion” of the Vice President’s statements.
In a statement issued today in Abuja, the Vice President’s office clarified that Senator Shettima’s remarks during the public presentation of the book “OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Oil Block” by former Attorney General Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), were purely historical in nature and in no way intended as commentary on the recent suspension of Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
The statement emphasized that the Vice President had referenced an attempt during the Jonathan administration to remove him from office as Governor of Borno State, at the height of the Boko Haram insurgency in the North East. According to the Vice President’s office, this reference was made to highlight Nigeria’s evolving constitutional journey and the importance of lawful responses to crises.
“It is disingenuous and misleading,” the statement reads, “to equate Senator Shettima’s personal account with the recent constitutional suspension of Governor Fubara. The Vice President’s remarks were a tribute to former AGF Adoke’s professional conduct and had no bearing on current developments.”
The Presidency further explained that the situation in Rivers State, which led to Governor Fubara’s suspension, was addressed through constitutionally mandated mechanisms. Citing Section 305(3)(c) of the Constitution, the statement defended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s decision to declare a state of emergency and suspend the Rivers State government amid what it described as “grave political instability and threats to national security.”
“No objective observer,” the statement added, “can deny that the intervention by President Tinubu was necessary to avert a complete collapse of governance in Rivers State. It was a constitutional act, ratified by a bipartisan majority in the National Assembly.”
The Office of the Vice President firmly rejected attempts by political actors and media platforms to suggest internal divisions within the Presidency, reiterating that Vice President Shettima remains in full alignment with President Tinubu’s leadership.
“Senator Shettima’s loyalty to President Tinubu is unwavering. Any interpretation of his comments as a critique of the President’s recent actions is either a willful distortion or a deliberate neglect of constitutional context,” the statement concluded.
The Presidency urged journalists and political commentators to exercise responsibility by avoiding sensationalism and refraining from lifting statements out of context to create “nonexistent conflicts.