Shettima is right, Tinubu has no power to remove Fubara – ADC replies Presidency
The African Democratic Congress has called for an immediate end to the state of emergency in Rivers State, stating that Vice President Kashim Shettima spoke the truth in his recent remarks.
According to the ADC’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, President Bola Tinubu allegedly exploited the constitution to serve his political agenda in Rivers, asserting that he has no constitutional authority to suspend a democratically elected governor.
On March 18, President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State due to the political situation in the state.
As part of the emergency measures, the President suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the State House of Assembly, appointing retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas as sole administrator for a six-month period.
READ ALSO: Senate okays Tinubu’s emergency rule in Rivers State
Although FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and Fubara have since reconciled, President Tinubu has yet to lift the suspension.
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, held at the Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja on Thursday, Vice President, Shettima recounted how, with the backing of some political leaders, he resisted attempts by ex- President Goodluck Jonathan to remove him from office as Governor of Borno State.
Shettima’s remarks sparked mixed reactions, with some interpreting his comments as a veiled criticism of President Tinubu’s actions in Rivers, suggesting they were unconstitutional.
n response, the ADC released a statement after the Vice President’s media aide, Stanley Nkwocha, said that Shettima’s remarks had been “deliberately misrepresented to create division within the administration.”
ADC stated, “This simple truth, which is anchored in the Nigerian Constitution, must not be lost in the fog of political correctness that is currently emanating from Aso Rock. Truth does not respect political correctness, because what is wrong is wrong.
READ ALSO: ADC-led coalition leaders can’t stop Tinubu – Wike
“What made the removal of an elected governor wrong and unconstitutional under President Jonathan in the case of Borno State, is the same that makes it wrong and unconstitutional under President Tinubu in the case of Rivers State.
The only thing that has changed is that while one president held the Constitution as sacrosanct and inviolable, another feels it could be manipulated to suit narrow political interests.
“In recounting his ordeal under the Jonathan administration, the Vice President reminded Nigerians that when the idea of removing him as Borno State Governor was floated, the then Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal stood his ground and told the President that he had no power to remove even an elected councillor.
According to Vice President Shettima, Tambuwal’s position was reaffirmed by the Attorney General at the time, Mohammed Bello Adoke, who also told President Jonathan that the President of Nigeria does not have the power under the constitution to remove an elected governor from office.
READ ALSO: President has no power to remove elected governor – VP Shettima (Video)
“This is not just history. It is precedent. But unlike Jonathan, who has been widely acclaimed as a respecter of the law, President Tinubu chose to disregard the very laws he swore to uphold and tread the path of unconstitutionality in Rivers State.
The suspension of a duly elected governor is not just unconstitutional, it is also authoritarian, and a dangerous precedent if allowed to persist even for a single more day.
“The ongoing executive overreach—fueled by narrow political interests— indeed poses a grave threat to Nigeria’s democracy and federalism. Nigeria is not a monarchy. The powers of the President are not absolute. They are bound by law, tempered by precedent, and subject to public accountability.”
The ADC interim National Publicity Secretary urged the President to apologise to Nigerians for the abuse of power and violation of constitutional order under his leadership.
READ ALSO: Ex-minister Adamu Maina Waziri resigns from PDP, joins ADC
The statement read in part, “For avoidance of doubts, the breakdown of law and order that the presidency has deployed as pretext to overthrow democratic order in Rivers State is nothing compared with the rampaging scourge of Boko Haram that abducted more than 200 school girls in Chibok, Borno state, slaughtered school boys in Buni Yadi, Yobe State and challenged the very sovereignty of Nigeria.
“Yet, in declaring a state of emergency in the affected states under these dire circumstances, President Jonathan recognised the limits of his constitutional powers and respected them.
This was the truth that the Vice President reminded us of at the Book Launch of former Attorney General, Mohammed Bello Adoke on Thursday. It was not a faux pas, it was not Freudian slip, it was the truth anchored on the facts of history.
“In this regard, the ADC therefore calls on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immediately restore democratic governance in Rivers State, cease all illegal interference in the affairs of the state, and halt the unconstitutional actions that have upended democratic rule in that state.
“We further demand that the President tenders an unreserved apology to the Nigerian people for this abuse of power and the blatant disregard for constitutional order that has played out under his watch.”
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