The Presidency has debunked claims linking Vice President Kashim Shettima’s remarks at a book launch in Abuja to recent developments in Rivers State involving Governor Siminalayi Fubara and President Bola Tinubu.
In a statement on Friday, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications (Office of the Vice President), Stanley Nkwocha, described the media interpretations as “gross misrepresentation” and “reckless endangerment of national cohesion.”
Shettima had spoken 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, held at the Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, on Thursday.
According to Nkwocha, the Vice President referenced a historical episode during the Jonathan administration when there were alleged moves to remove him as Governor of Borno State at the height of the Boko Haram insurgency.
He clarified that Shettima’s remarks were in the context of acknowledging Adoke’s role as a public official and did not amount to commentary on current political events.
“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.
“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, GCFR, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
We wish to state categorically that Vice President Shettima’s comments were made within the specific context of acknowledging the author’s past professional conduct during his tenure as Attorney General of the Federation. His remarks were historical references to events that occurred during the Jonathan administration, and constituted nothing more than an intellectual discourse on Nigeria’s constitutional evolution.
“This rare moment of retrospection was purely illustrative, intended to demonstrate how our constitutional democracy has matured within the capacity to resolve complex federal-state tensions through established legal mechanisms,” the statement said.
