Vice President Kashim Shettima has recalled how former President Goodluck Jonathan was advised that he had no constitutional power to remove a sitting governor. This contrasts with President Bola Tinubu’s suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State in March 2025.
Speaking at the launch of former Attorney General Mohammed Adoke’s memoir OPL 245: Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Nigerian Oil Block on Thursday, Shettima revealed that Jonathan once considered removing him as Borno State governor during the peak of the Boko Haram crisis.
However, Adoke, who served as Attorney General at the time, reportedly told the president that the Nigerian Constitution does not give even the president the power to remove an elected councillor, let alone a governor.
Shettima said it was Adoke who told President Jonathan in clear terms that he lacked the constitutional authority to sack an elected official.
Shettima served as Borno governor from 2011 to 2019 and was at the helm during the 2013 state of emergency declared in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa. Despite the emergency, the governors in those states remained in office.
Vice President Shettima’s statements come amidst persistent rumours of a rift between him and President Tinubu, particularly over policy direction and internal party leadership.
His comments have revived debate over constitutional limits, especially in the wake of President Tinubu’s controversial decision to suspend Governor Fubara, his deputy, and the entire Rivers House of Assembly in March this year.
Legal scholars have widely criticised the move as unconstitutional. Unlike Adoke, current Attorney General Lateef Fagbemi defended Tinubu’s action, marking a sharp contrast in legal opinion on presidential powers over elected officials.
