Human rights lawyer and legal counsel to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has criticized recent remarks by Vice President Senator Kashim Shettima, describing them as both a “true confession” and an example of the double standards that pervade Nigerian politics.
Ejiofor was responding to Shettima’s revelation that he was once shielded from removal as Governor of Borno State by former Attorney-General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN).
According to Ejiofor, this admission underscores the selective application of constitutional principles depending on political convenience and affiliations.
Shettima also said he recalled a pivotal moment during President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration when the then Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, unequivocally told the President that even he lacked the constitutional authority to remove an elected councillor let alone a sitting governor.
That precedent, Ejiofor argued, was grounded in constitutional propriety and respect for the rule of law, a standard now seemingly abandoned.
In a statement titled “Reflections on Power, Principle, and the Irony of Time Shettima’s Remark and the Contradictions of Today,” Ejiofor highlighted the glaring irony: a Vice President who once benefited from constitutional protection now serves in an administration accused of undermining that very same constitutional order.
Specifically, he criticized Shettima for failing to influence President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to halt alleged moves to remove Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, reportedly through the declaration of a state of emergency,an action widely perceived as a political strategy to seize control of the state.
“The very constitutional safeguards that once protected Shettima in his hour of political vulnerability are now being tested, if not outrightly disregarded, under the same government he helps to lead,” Ejiofor stated.
This, he argued, exemplifies the growing inconsistency in the application of constitutional norms in Nigeria,a dangerous precedent that threatens the foundational integrity of democratic governance in the country.
The statement reads in full ”
“In a moment of rare candour, the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Kashim Shettima, recently acknowledged that former Attorney-General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), played a pivotal role in shielding him from an unlawful attempt to remove him as Governor of Borno State. He further recalled how the then Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, unequivocally informed former President Goodluck Jonathan that not even the President had the constitutional authority to remove an elected councillor, let alone a sitting governor.
These recollections hark back to a time when constitutionalism, though imperfect, had valiant defenders within the corridors of power, individuals who, amid immense political pressure, chose to uphold the sanctity of democratic institutions and due process.
But the irony today is glaring.
Vice President Shettima now serves in an administration widely accused of undermining the very rule of law he once benefited from. A telling case in point is the recent imposition of state of emergency in Rivers state by the Tinubu-led Federal Government , under which Shettima is Vice President, a move widely condemned as a thinly veiled ploy to unseat a democratically elected governor through executive fiat. Not only was the Governor of Rivers State unlawfully removed by executive fiat, but the entire democratic institutions and structures in the state , including the duly elected councillors , were effectively dismantled under the administration in which Shettima serves as Vice President. The very constitutional safeguard that once protected Shettima in his hour of need is today being tested, if not altogether disregarded , under the administration he now helps to steer.
In the current political climate, one must ask: Would a similar principled stand be possible today? Would voices like Adoke’s and Tambuwal’s still echo within the chambers of power, resisting unlawful and anti-democratic pressures? Many Nigerians believe the outcome would be tragically different.
Can Vice President Shettima, in good conscience, point to contemporary instances under the present administration where power has been restrained for the sake of democratic integrity? Can he truly claim the same fidelity to constitutionalism he once praised?
Nigeria’s democracy is still young, but its guardians must not selectively interpret or apply its tenets. The legacy of defending constitutional order must not be romanticised as a thing of the past, it must be preserved and practised now. Senator Shettima’s words serve both as a powerful reminder of what was once possible and a sobering reflection of what is at risk of being lost”
