In a moment of rare political honesty, Vice President Kashim Shettima recently revisited a pivotal constitutional debate—one that has now drawn both admiration and controversy.
Speaking at the launch 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), Shettima recalled how, during the 2013 declaration of emergency rule in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa States, key officials like Adoke and then Speaker Aminu Tambuwal boldly advised against the illegal removal of sitting governors.
Their counsel, rooted in constitutional fidelity, ultimately protected Shettima’s own tenure as Governor of Borno. It was a principled stance—one the Vice President himself rightly commended.
Yet, almost immediately, that powerful moment was undercut by an awkward attempt from his office to backpedal.
A follow-up statement sought to disassociate the Vice President’s remarks from the current crisis in Rivers State, where Governor Siminalayi Fubara was controversially declared removed earlier in March amidst claims of political disorder.
This sudden reversal raises a troubling question: Who is pressuring Nigeria’s Vice President to retreat from the truth?
Acting National Chairman, Labour Party(LP) Nenadi Usman speaking for the party considers it more than a political gaffe—it is an assault on democratic integrity.
Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which governs states of emergency, has not changed since 2013. It gives the President no power whatsoever to sack a sitting governor under any guise.
Her special adviser Ken Eluma Asogwa in a statement said, any suggestion to the contrary is simply false—and dangerous.
The statement reads, “Vice President Shettima’s initial remarks were not only historically accurate but constitutionally sound.
That they are now being walked back so swiftly suggests external interference of the kind that undermines both his office and the broader democratic order.
“If even the Vice President—vested with immunity and tasked with upholding Nigeria’s highest laws—can be compelled to retreat from a statement of truth, what hope remains for free expression and rule of law under this administration?
“Let it be known: truth should never be punished. Vice President Shettima’s comments offered a moment of clarity in a political environment too often clouded by spin and coercion. That moment must be protected.
“We call on those pulling strings behind the scenes to cease all efforts to silence or sanitize the Vice President’s statement. “To do otherwise is to undermine the office he holds, the Constitution he swore to uphold, and the citizens he represents.
“The Labour Party salutes Vice President Shettima for his candour—however brief—and urges him to stand firm in defence of the truth. The Nigerian people are watching, and history will remember.”