No President Has Authority to Remove Even Councillor—Shettima

 

Vice-President Kashim Shettima has drawn a sharp line between himself and Tinubu’s controversial ouster of Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, insisting that no Nigerian president has the constitutional authority to remove an elected state official, not even a councillor.

Speaking on Thursday at the launch of a book by former Attorney-General of the Federation Mohammed Bello Adoke in Abuja, Shettima stopped short of directly mentioning the Rivers crisis but used a personal anecdote to issue a thinly veiled rebuke of presidential overreach.

“Former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan was floating the idea of removing this Borno governor (pointing at himself), and Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, had the courage to tell the president, ‘You don’t have the power to remove an elected councillor,’ Shettima told attendees.

The remark comes months after Fubara, a sitting governor elected under the opposition, was controversially removed from office in March 2025 following an abrupt intervention by Tinubu. The move was reportedly endorsed by the National Assembly after lawmakers were allegedly induced with cash payments from the presidency’s allies. A retired military officer has since assumed office in Fubara’s place.

Though Shettima did not name Fubara in his speech, the context and timing have stirred speculation that the vice president was expressing dissatisfaction with Tinubu’s handling of the matter.

Recounting how he was once targeted for removal during his own tenure as Borno governor, Shettima said Adoke had stood firm in defense of constitutionalism.

“The president was still unconvinced; he mooted the idea at the Federal Executive Council. Mr. Mohammed Adoke told the president, You do not have the power to remove a sitting governor,” Shettima recalled. “They sought the opinion of another SAN in the cabinet, Kabiru Turaki, who also said, ‘I am of the candid opinion of my senior colleagues. That was how the matter was laid to rest.”

He praised Adoke for having the courage to speak truth to power, even when it was unpopular. “I want to thank you for the courage to forgive those who have offended you. In the last four years of the Jonathan government, I was the public enemy number one,” he added.

Political observers see Shettima’s remarks as the clearest sign yet of growing discontent between him and Tinubu. Tensions reportedly escalated after a recent meeting at the State House where ruling party figures loyal to Tinubu endorsed him for a second term in 2027, without offering Shettima the same backing as running mate.