The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has rejected the Presidency’s clarification of Vice President Kashim Shettima’s recent statement, insisting that the vice president was correct in saying the President lacks constitutional authority to remove a sitting governor.
In a press statement issued Friday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said the Vice President’s remarks were rooted in constitutional principles and historical precedent. It described the Presidency’s response as “a mere attempt at political correctness” that fails to address the substance of the issue.
“The truth must not be lost in the fog of political correctness that is currently emanating from Aso Rock,” the statement said. “What made the removal of an elected governor wrong under President Jonathan is the same that makes it wrong under President Tinubu. The only difference is that one respected the constitution, and the other sees it as something to be bent to fit political agendas.”
The ADC cited a historical episode referenced by Shettima, in which then-President Goodluck Jonathan reportedly considered removing him as governor of Borno State. According to Shettima, the idea was firmly opposed by then-Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, and the Attorney General at the time, Mohammed Bello Adoke, who both told Jonathan that the constitution did not empower the President to remove a governor.
The party argued that the situation in Rivers State, where the governor’s authority has been challenged, reflects a troubling departure from constitutional order. “The suspension of a duly elected governor is not just unconstitutional—it is authoritarian,” the statement continued. “The ongoing executive overreach poses a grave threat to Nigeria’s democracy and federalism.”
Responding to the Presidency’s justification that a breakdown of law and order in Rivers State warranted federal intervention, the ADC drew a comparison to the Boko Haram insurgency during Jonathan’s tenure. Despite widespread insecurity, it noted, Jonathan respected constitutional boundaries while declaring a state of emergency.
“What happened in Chibok, Buni Yadi and elsewhere under Jonathan’s watch—abductions, killings, attacks on sovereignty—was far more severe than anything being cited in Rivers today. Yet, he did not attempt to unseat elected officials or undermine democratic structures,” the statement said.
The ADC urged President Bola Tinubu to reverse all actions taken in Rivers State that undermine the authority of its governor and demanded an apology from the President for what it described as an “abuse of power.”
The statement read in full: “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 own 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 councilor. 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 bounded by law, tempered by precedent, and subject to public accountability.
“For avoidance of doubts, the breakdown of law and order that the presidency has deployed as pretext to overthrow democratic order in Rivers State is nothing compared with the rampaging scourge of Boko Haram that abducted more than 200 school girls in Chibok, Borno state, slaughtered school boys 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 recognized the limits of his constitutional powers and he respected it. 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 faux pas, it was not Freudian slip, 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.
“The ADC will continue to stand with the Nigerian people in defence of democracy, justice, and constitutionalism.”
