Vice President Kashim Shettima has seriously warned media outlets and political actors, urging them to desist from distorting his public comments in a bid to create a false narrative of discord between him and President Bola Tinubu.
The warning, conveyed through a statement by Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications (Office of the Vice President), was in response to reports misrepresenting Shettima’s remarks at a recent book launch in Abuja.
The Vice President had spoken at the public presentation of OPL 245: The Inside Story of the \$1.3 Billion Oil Block authored by former Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), held at the Yar’Adua Centre. However, parts of his speech were reportedly lifted out of context by some online media platforms.
“Certain online news outlets and individuals have distorted the Vice President’s comments in pursuit of a mischievous agenda, twisting his account of how the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan considered removing him from office—then as governor of Borno—at the height of the insurgency in the North East,” the statement noted.
Nkwocha clarified that Shettima’s remarks had no bearing on the recent state of emergency declared in Rivers State or the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara by President Tinubu..
“This sensational reporting, which strips the Vice President’s remarks of their proper context, ventures into fiction by drawing false equivalence between his personal experience and the state of emergency declared in Rivers State…”
The statement argued that Shettima’s comments were strictly in tribute to Adoke’s professional conduct and meant to highlight Nigeria’s constitutional evolution, not to question current government actions.
“We wish to state categorically that Vice President Shettima’s comments were made within the context of acknowledging the author’s professional conduct during his tenure as Attorney General of the Federation—a tribute to his public service record.”
It further explained the constitutionality of the President’s actions in Rivers State, citing Section 305 of the Constitution, and described the intervention as necessary due to grave political instability and threats to national assets.
“President Tinubu acted with constitutional fidelity. His proclamation invoking Section 305(2) was ratified by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the National Assembly…”
The statement rejected any attempt to conflate suspension with removal and reaffirmed Shettima’s unwavering loyalty to Tinubu.
“Vice President Shettima stands in loyal concert with President Tinubu in implementing these difficult but necessary actions to safeguard our democracy…”
In conclusion, the Vice President called on political players and the media to refrain from misleading the public by wrenching his words out of context to fabricate a rift where none exists.
