The Presidency has dismissed claims that Vice President Kashim Shettima’s recent comments at a book launch were directed at President Bola Tinubu or linked to the political turmoil in Rivers State.
In a statement issued on Friday, July 11, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications (Office of the Vice President), Stanley Nkwocha, said Shettima’s remarks were deliberately misinterpreted by sections of the media.
He described such reports as a “gross misrepresentation” and warned that they risked stoking division and undermining national unity.
The Vice President was speaking at the public presentation of OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Oil Block, a book written by former Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke, SAN. The event was held at the Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja on Thursday.
According to Nkwocha, Shettima had only recounted a personal political experience during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, when there were moves to remove him as Borno State Governor amid the Boko Haram insurgency.
The reference, he clarified, was made solely to highlight Adoke’s professional conduct during that turbulent period.
“Some news outlets have irresponsibly twisted the Vice President’s account of how the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan floated the idea of removing him from office, then as governor of Borno State, in the most intense and critical phase of insurgency in the North East region of the country,” Nkwocha said.
He added, “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 by His Excellency, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”
Nkwocha said Shettima’s comments were clearly historical and meant to illustrate how Nigeria’s democracy has evolved in resolving federal-state tensions through constitutional means.
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“This rare moment of retrospection was purely illustrative,” he explained. “It was never meant to reflect on or criticise President Tinubu’s recent actions in Rivers State.”
Some reports had interpreted Shettima’s remarks as a subtle swipe at Tinubu, following the President’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers and the suspension of Governor Fubara. Nkwocha said this was false and misleading.
“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 was part of the measures implemented in response to the grave circumstances surrounding the polity in Rivers State at the time,” he clarified.
Nkwocha pointed to the demolition of the State House of Assembly complex and the threat of impeachment faced by the Governor as factors that necessitated federal intervention.
He insisted the President acted within his constitutional powers.
“President Tinubu followed the constitutional process with honest precision. The President’s proclamation properly invoked Section 305(2), which was subsequently ratified by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the National Assembly,” he said.
Nkwocha urged media organisations and political actors to refrain from politicising Shettima’s remarks or creating rifts within the administration.
“Vice President Shettima stands shoulder to shoulder with President Tinubu in implementing these difficult but indispensable actions to safeguard our democracy,” he added.