Vice-President Kashim Shettima on Thursday praised a former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, for preventing his removal as Borno State governor by former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Mr Shettima said Mr Jonathan mooted the idea of his removal at a meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) but was told by Mr Adoke that he (Jonathan) had no power to do so.
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The vice president spoke at the public presentation of a book authored by the former AGF in Abuja.
The book titled, “OPL 245: Inside Story of the $1.3 billion Nigerian Oil Block.”
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Mr Adoke served as AGF under the Jonathan administration.
For his part, Mr Shettima was Borno governor 2011 to 2019 when he was elected to the Senate where he represented the central senatorial district of the state.
Recalling his experience as governor, Mr Shettima commended Mr Adoke for using his role as the attorney-general at the time to thwart Mr Jonathan’s attempt to remove governors of northeastern states over heightened insecurity in the region in 2013.
He stated that said apart from Mr Adoke, the then Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, also told the former president pointedly that he lacked the power to remove an elected governor.
“It was Aminu Tambuwal, the then Speaker of the House of Representatives who had the courage to tell the president: You don’t have the power to remove an elected councillor.
“In the last four years of the Jonathan government, I was the public enemy number one,” he said.
The VP added, “The president was still not convinced, 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.
“They sought the opinion of another SAN in the cabinet, Kabiru Turaki, who also said ‘I am concurring with the opinion of my senior colleague (Adoke). That was how the matter was laid to rest. And that was how my relationship with Tambuwal and Adoke became eternally sealed.”
Reports at the time said Mr Adoke successfully convinced President Jonathan not to remove the governors of North-east states of Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa when the president declared a state of emergency in the states in 2013 due to intense and escalating activities of Boko Haram.
Any Constitutional basis?
Mr Shettima’s revelation appears to have suggested there is no constitutional basis for a president to remove an elected governor in Nigeria.
It also appears to have indicted his boss, President Bola Tinubu, who recently suspended an elected governor.
On 18 March, President Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State, suspending Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu and all elected lawmakers of the state House of Assembly for an initial period of six months.
President Tinubu appointed Ibok-Ete Ibas, a retired vice admiral, as sole administrator to take charge of the affairs of the state.
The president cited the provision of Section 305 of the constitution for his action.
Although, the National Assembly later ratified the president’s action, many argued at the time that the section does not give him power to suspend an elected governor and lawmakers.
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President Tinubu is not the first to suspend an elected governor. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, while in office, also declared a state of emergency in Plateau and Ekiti States and suspended their governors at the time.
Documenting stewardship
Mr Shettima called for transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s public service, urging former and current public officials to summon the courage to document their life and stewardship while in service.
He noted that public servants live under perpetual scrutiny, as life itself is a litigation with no end and no final adjournment in the pursuit of justice.
He also applauded Mr Adoke for the courage to forgive those who have offended him.
