The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has called for an immediate end to the state of emergency in Rivers State, stating that Vice President Kashim Shettima spoke the truth in his recent remarks.
According to the ADC’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, President Bola Tinubu allegedly used the constitution to advance his political goal in Rivers, claiming that he lacks the constitutional right to suspend a democratically elected governor.
President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State on March 18, citing the state’s political crisis.
As part of the emergency measures, the president suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the State House of Assembly and appointed retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas as sole administrator for six months.
Although FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and Fubara have subsequently reconciled, President Tinubu has not lifted the suspension.
During the public presentation of former Attorney General Mohammed Bello Adoke’s book “OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Oil Block” at the Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja on Thursday, Vice President Shettima recounted how, with the support of some political leaders, he resisted ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s attempts to remove him from office as Governor of Borno.
Shettima’s words elicited varied reactions, with some viewing them as a veiled criticism of President Tinubu’s actions in Rivers, claiming they were unlawful.
In response, the ADC issued a statement after the Vice President’s media adviser, Stanley Nkwocha, said that Shettima’s statements had been “deliberately misrepresented to create division within the administration.”
ADC stated, “This simple truth, which is anchored in the Nigerian Constitution, must not be lost in the fog of political correctness that is currently emanating from Aso Rock. Truth does not respect political correctness, because what is wrong is wrong.
“What made the removal of an elected governor wrong and unconstitutional under President Jonathan in the case of Borno State is the same that makes it wrong and unconstitutional under President Tinubu in the case of Rivers State. The only thing that has changed is that while one president held the Constitution as sacrosanct and inviolable, another feels it could be manipulated to suit narrow political interests.
“In recounting his ordeal under the Jonathan administration, the Vice President reminded Nigerians that when the idea of removing him as Borno State Governor was floated, the then Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon Aminu Tambuwal, stood his ground and told the President that he had no power to remove even an elected councillor.
“According to Vice President Shettima, Tambuwal’s position was reaffirmed by the Attorney General at the time, Mohammed Bello Adoke, who also told President Jonathan that the President of Nigeria does not have the power under the constitution to remove an elected governor from office.
“This is not just history. It is precedent. But unlike Jonathan, who has been widely acclaimed as a respecter of the law, President Tinubu chose to disregard the very laws he swore to uphold and tread the path of unconstitutionality in Rivers State. The suspension of a duly elected governor is not just unconstitutional; it is also authoritarian and a dangerous precedent if allowed to persist even for a single more day.
“The ongoing executive overreach—fueled by narrow political interests—indeed poses a grave threat to Nigeria’s democracy and federalism. Nigeria is not a monarchy. The powers of the president are not absolute. They are bound by law, tempered by precedent, and subject to public accountability.”
The ADC temporary National Publicity Secretary urged the President to apologise to Nigerians for the misuse of power and breach of constitutional order that occurred under his leadership.
The ADC added, “For avoidance of doubts, the breakdown of law and order that the presidency has deployed as a pretext to overthrow democratic order in Rivers State is nothing compared with the rampaging scourge of Boko Haram that abducted more than 200 schoolgirls in Chibok, Borno State, slaughtered schoolboys in Buni Yadi, Yobe State, and challenged the very sovereignty of Nigeria.
“Yet, in declaring a state of emergency in the affected states under these dire circumstances, President Jonathan recognised the limits of his constitutional powers and respected them. 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 a faux pas, it was not a Freudian slip, and it was the truth anchored on the facts of history.
“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.”
