Lawrence Olaoye 
The Presidency has said that the declaration of the State-of-Emergency in Rivers State and the eventual suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara and other elected officials was within the constitutional fidelity.
Responding to viral reports where Vice President Kassim Shettima was quoted to have thanked the former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke and former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Sen. Aminu Tambuwal for saving him when former President Goodluck Jonathan wanted to remove him from office as the Borno State Governor at the height of Boko Haram insurgency in the state, a presidential spokesman in the Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, said Shettima’s comments were twisted in order to fabricate non-existent conflicts in the Presidency.
The Vice President made the comments during the public presentation of the book “OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Oil Block” by the former minister in Abuja.
Viral reports interpreted the comments to mean that the Vice President tacitly described Fubara’s suspension and the appointment of incumbent sole administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, as unconstitutional.
Nkwocha said the situation necessitating Fubara’s suspension was incomparable to the challenges under Shettima as Borno governor during ex-President Jonathan’s administration.
He clarified further that Tinubu’s emergency declaration only suspended Fubara and did not entirely remove him from office.
Drawing the distinction, the Presidential spokesman wrote: “For the avoidance of doubt, President Tinubu did not remove Governor Fubara from office. The constitutional measure implemented was a suspension, not an outright removal. This action, along with the declaration of a state of emergency, was taken in response to the grave political crisis in Rivers State at the time.
“The situation was unprecedented, with the State House of Assembly complex under demolition and the Governor facing a looming threat of impeachment by aggrieved members of the legislature. No objective observer can deny that this decisive intervention by the President brought stability and calm to Rivers State.
“This situation is not comparable to that of the North East under the Jonathan administration, where violent non-state actors were directly challenging the sovereignty of the Nigerian state, demanding unified action by both federal and state authorities to confront terrorism. In contrast, President Tinubu acted strictly within constitutional limits and in consultation with relevant stakeholders to preserve democratic institutions and restore order in Rivers State.
“Nigeria’s laws provide a clear framework for addressing such matters. Section 305(3)(c) of the Constitution authorises extraordinary measures when there is “a breakdown of public order and public safety in the federation or any part thereof to such extent as to require extraordinary measures to restore peace and security.”
“The situation in Rivers State clearly met this constitutional threshold, with persistent politically motivated violence, systematic attacks on federal institutions, and near-complete paralysis of governance—conditions intolerable in any democratic society. According to credible security reports, these acts even escalated into attacks on national assets.
“President Tinubu acted with constitutional fidelity. His proclamation invoking Section 305(2) was ratified by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the National Assembly, as required by Section 305(3).
“This cross-party consensus in suspending the government of Rivers State, led by Sim Fubara, reflects a shared understanding among our elected representatives that the situation had reached a point of constitutional necessity, requiring immediate federal intervention.
“Clearly, without mincing words, the action of President Tinubu in suspending Mr Fubara and others from exercising the functions of office averted the Governor’s outright removal. To conflate suspension with removal is misleading. Therefore, interpreting Senator Shettima’s remarks as commentary on current events is either a wilful misrepresentation or a deliberate neglect of constitutional context.
He continued: “The Vice President, speaking extemporaneously, focused on the importance of public officials documenting their stewardship and on the enduring principle of accountability in public service. His historical references were made to illustrate the principled stands taken by past public servants, as well as his personal ties to Mohammed Bello Adoke and former Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal. His remarks were not in any way a criticism of President Tinubu’s actions, which the Vice President and the entire administration fully support and stand by without reservation.
“Shettima stands in loyal concert with President Tinubu in implementing these difficult but necessary actions to safeguard our democracy. We urge media organisations and political actors to desist from the destructive practice of wrenching statements from context in order to fabricate nonexistent conflicts.”
