The Presidency has stated that Vice President Kashim Shettima’s recent comments at a public event were wrongly reported and taken out of the context in which they were made.
On Friday, the Office of the Vice President responded to reports circulating on various online platforms, which claimed that Shettima indirectly criticised President Bola Tinubu’s handling of the political crisis in Rivers State—particularly the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
These reports suggested that Shettima compared the Rivers situation to events that occurred during his time as Governor of Borno State under former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.
However, the Presidency, in a statement signed by Mr. Stanley Nkwocha, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications (Office of the Vice President), clarified that the Vice President’s remarks were being misrepresented.
The statement reads: “The Office of the Vice President wishes to address and clarify recent misrepresentations regarding remarks made by His Excellency, Senator Kashim Shettima, Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, during the public presentation of the book “OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Oil Block” by Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN) at the Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, on Thursday, July 10, 2025.
“Certain online platforms and individuals have distorted the Vice President’s comments, falsely linking his historical references about the Jonathan administration’s consideration of his removal as Governor of Borno State during the insurgency, to the current political developments in Rivers State.
“This misrepresentation is misleading and ignores the clear constitutional and contextual differences between the two situations.
“Vice President Shettima’s remarks were made in the context of recognizing the professional conduct of the book’s author during his tenure as Attorney General of the Federation.
“His references to past events were intended to highlight Nigeria’s constitutional evolution and the legal frameworks used to manage complex federal-state relations, not to comment on ongoing political matters.”
Making clarification on the remarks especially as it concerned the situation in Rivers State which it said was completely different from the scenario in Borno State,, the Presidency said: “To clarify, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu did not remove Governor Siminalayi Fubara from office. Rather, in response to a grave political crisis—including the demolition of the Rivers State House of Assembly and threats of impeachment—the President constitutionally suspended Governor Fubara under Section 305 of the Nigerian Constitution.
“This decisive action, supported by a bipartisan majority in the National Assembly, was necessary to restore peace, stability, and effective governance in Rivers State.
“The crisis in Rivers State is fundamentally different from the insurgency challenges faced in the North East under the Jonathan administration. While the latter involved violent non-state actors threatening national sovereignty, the former was a political and security crisis requiring constitutional intervention to uphold democratic institutions.
“We emphasize that conflating suspension with removal is inaccurate and misleading. Vice President Shettima’s comments were not directed at current events but were historical reflections underscoring accountability and principled public service, alongside his personal connections to the author and other public figures.”
The statement added that the Vice President fully supports President Tinubu’s constitutional actions to safeguard Nigeria’s democracy and called on media and political actors to refrain from distorting statements to create false narratives or conflicts.
