The Office of the Vice President has strongly dismissed media reports linking Vice President Kashim Shettima’s recent comments at a book launch to current political developments in Rivers State, describing such interpretations as “gross misrepresentation” and “reckless distortion.”
In a statement issued on Friday, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Communications (Office of the Vice President), Stanley Nkwocha, clarified that Shettima’s remarks during the presentation of “OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Oil Block” by former Attorney General Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN) were taken completely out of context by some news outlets.
The Vice President’s references to past events during the Goodluck Jonathan administration—particularly the alleged attempt to remove him as Borno State Governor—were merely historical reflections, the statement said. These remarks, it added, were aimed at illustrating Nigeria’s constitutional evolution and not a commentary on the recent suspension of Rivers Governor Siminalayi Fubara or the state of emergency declared in the oil-rich state.
“It is deeply concerning that some media organisations chose to sensationalise a thoughtful and retrospective account to insinuate a rift within the administration,” Nkwocha noted. “The Vice President’s speech focused on the importance of documenting public service and accountability—not on criticizing current government actions.”
Addressing the Rivers situation, the statement reaffirmed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu acted within constitutional limits when he declared a state of emergency and approved the temporary suspension of Governor Fubara. These measures, it explained, were taken in response to rising political violence, the demolition of the State House of Assembly, and a governance paralysis that necessitated urgent federal intervention.
Quoting Section 305 of the Constitution, the statement noted that Tinubu’s decision followed due legal process, was ratified by a bipartisan majority in the National Assembly, and aimed to safeguard democratic institutions.
“There is no comparison between the Rivers crisis and the North East insurgency under Jonathan,” the statement emphasized. “President Tinubu acted to restore order, not suppress opposition.”
The Presidency warned against continued distortion of public officials’ statements, stressing that such practices threaten national unity. “To interpret Senator Shettima’s remarks as commentary on current affairs is either a deliberate misreading or a misunderstanding of constitutional discourse,” Nkwocha stated.
Reaffirming the unity within the administration, the Vice President’s Office concluded that Shettima remains fully aligned with President Tinubu in defending constitutional democracy and the rule of law.
“We implore media organisations and political actors to abandon the destructive practice of wrenching statements from their proper context to fabricate nonexistent conflicts,” the statement concluded.
