VP SHETTIMA DENIES COMPARING JONATHAN ERA TO FUBARA SUSPENSION……………
By: Safiya Abdulrahim Dabban
The Office of the Vice President has dismissed claims that Vice President Kashim Shettima drew parallels between former President Goodluck Jonathan’s handling of the Boko Haram crisis and the recent political situation in Rivers State.
In a statement signed by Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Communications (Office of the Vice President), the remarks made by Shettima during the launch of former Attorney-General Mohammed Bello Adoke’s book, OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Oil Block, were said to have been misrepresented.
According to the statement, the Vice President was reflecting on events during his time as Borno State Governor, when there were discussions under the Jonathan administration about removing him amid the insurgency in the North East.
The VP’s comments, the statement noted, were historical and meant to commend Adoke’s professionalism at the time, not to criticise the current administration or compare it to Jonathan’s.
The office clarified that President Bola Tinubu did not remove Governor Siminalayi Fubara but only suspended certain officials in response to a political crisis in Rivers State. The crisis, it said, differs significantly from the violent insurgency in the North East that directly threatened Nigeria’s sovereignty.
It warned media outlets and political actors against twisting the Vice President’s remarks, insisting that Shettima stands firmly behind President Tinubu’s actions to protect democracy.