The African Democratic Congress (ADC) says Vice President Kashim Shettima is right to say that President Bola Tinubu has no power to remove an elected governor.
This statement from the party comes after Shettima, while speaking at a public event on Thursday, said a president has no constitutional authority to remove any elected governor. He made the remark while sharing his personal experience, recalling how former President Goodluck Jonathan once tried to remove him as the governor of Borno State.
Shettima’s words have drawn attention, especially because they came at a time when President Tinubu is being accused of suspending Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, amid a political crisis in the state.
Reacting to Shettima’s statement, the Presidency released a response on Friday, saying the Vice President’s comment had nothing to do with the situation in Rivers State. However, the ADC disagrees with this claim, calling it “a mere attempt at political correctness.”
In a statement by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC noted that the facts of the matter should not be swept aside. It said Shettima was simply reminding Nigerians of a truth based on law and past events.
The party also noted that the President has no legal power to remove even a local councilor, let alone a sitting governor elected by the people.
“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,” the statement said.
“Yet, in declaring a state of emergency in the affected states under these dire circumstances, President Jonathan recognized the limits of his constitutional powers and he respected it.”
“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 faux pas, it was not Freudian slip, it was the truth anchored on the facts of history,” it added.
The party also called on President Tinubu to stop any unconstitutional interference in the affairs of Rivers State and respect democratic order.
“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.”
