Chairman of the National Caretaker Committee of the Labour Party, Senator Nenadi Usman, has cautioned the presidency against what she describes as undue pressure on Vice President Kashim Shettima to retract or downplay his recent remarks concerning the constitutional limits of presidential power. Her warning followed a statement made by the vice president during a book launch in Abuja last week.
Speaking at the presentation of a new book titled OPL 245: The Inside Story of the 1.3 Billion Dollar Oil Block authored by former Attorney General Mohammed Bello Adoke, Vice President Shettima recalled how, during a 2013 constitutional crisis, both Adoke and then Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, advised former President Goodluck Jonathan that he had no legal authority to remove an elected governor or even a councillor, despite the declaration of a state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states.
According to a statement issued by her Senior Special Adviser on Media, Ken Eluma Asogwa, Senator Usman described Shettima’s account as a rare moment of honesty and candour. She said his remarks served as a reminder of the constitutional principles that guide Nigeria’s democratic process.
However, Usman expressed deep concern over what she described as a hasty attempt by the vice president’s office to issue a follow-up statement distancing his comments from the current political situation in Rivers State, where Governor Siminalayi Fubara was controversially removed earlier in the year.
She described the effort as a clumsy walk-back, arguing that the section of the 1999 Constitution cited by Shettima, Section 305, remains unchanged and offers no room for the president to remove a sitting governor under any circumstance, including emergency declarations.
Senator Usman commended the vice president for what she called “a moment of truth,” in reference to his remarks at the launch. She urged those she described as political puppeteers within the presidency to stop pressuring the vice president to retract a legally accurate and historically supported statement.
She stressed that any attempt to coerce a sitting vice president, who enjoys constitutional immunity and privileges, into silence or retraction would further damage Nigeria’s already troubling human rights record. She added that such actions reflect a worrisome level of intolerance within the current administration.
The Labour Party chieftain concluded by urging the presidency to show greater respect for the office of the vice president, the rule of law, and the Constitution. She warned that failing to do so risks not only political instability but a further erosion of the democratic values the country claims to uphold.
