ABUJA, Nigeria — Vice President Kashim Shettima has recounted a turbulent episode during the Goodluck Jonathan presidency, claiming he was the “most demonised” political figure under that administration, which allegedly sought to remove him as Borno State governor during the height of the Boko Haram insurgency.
Shettima made the revelation on Thursday, July 10, 2025, in Abuja during the public presentation of OPL 245: Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Nigerian Oil Block, the memoir of former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) Mohammed Bello Adoke.
According to Shettima, President Jonathan at one point considered removing him from office, but was stopped by Adoke, who insisted there was no constitutional basis for such action.
“Adoke told President Jonathan that he had no constitutional power to remove even an elected councillor, let alone an elected governor,” Shettima said.
“I will forever respect him for standing on the side of the constitution, even when the heat was intense.”
Shettima served as governor of Borno State between 2011 and 2019, a period that coincided with some of the worst attacks by Boko Haram insurgents in Nigeria’s northeast.
On December 31, 2011, President Jonathan declared a state of emergency in parts of Borno and Plateau States.
The situation escalated further, prompting Jonathan to declare a full emergency in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa States on May 14, 2013 — yet all incumbent governors remained in office.
The Vice President’s recollection has reignited public discourse about the constitutional limits of presidential powers, especially in light of President Bola Tinubu’s recent handling of the political crisis in Rivers State.
On Tuesday, March 18, 2025, Tinubu declared a six-month state of emergency in Rivers, citing breakdown of law and order.
He suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu, and all members of the State House of Assembly.
Retired naval chief Vice Admiral Ibok Ette Ibas was named as interim administrator of the state.
