Vice-President Kashim Shettima has claimed that former President Goodluck Jonathan once attempted to remove him from office while he was serving as governor of Borno State
Shettima made the revelation in Abuja on Thursday during the public presentation of ‘OPL 245: Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Nigeria Oil Block’, a book authored by former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, SAN.
Reflecting on the political tensions during Jonathan’s administration, Shettima said he was one of the most targeted individuals at the time.
“For the last four years of the Jonathan administration, I was the most demonised governor in Nigeria, seen as public enemy number one,” he said.
He recalled a private meeting involving top government officials where, according to him, Jonathan considered removing him from office.
“There are two gentlemen seated here. Certain decisions are taken in a very rare circle — the President, Vice President, Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
“In one of such conclaves, former President Goodluck Jonathan — with whom we have since sheathed the sword and recalibrated our relationship — was muting the idea of removing this Borno governor.”
According to Shettima, it was then Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, who stood up and told Jonathan: “Your Excellency, you don’t have the powers to remove an elected councillor.”
Despite the objection, Shettima said Jonathan raised the idea again at the Federal Executive Council meeting. It was reportedly Adoke who reaffirmed that the president lacked such constitutional powers.
“He (Adoke) told the President, ‘Mr. President, you do not have the powers to remove a sitting governor, not even a councillor.’”
Shettima added that another senior cabinet member, Kabiru Turaki, concurred with Adoke’s position, and the matter was eventually dropped.
“That was how the issue ended, and that moment sealed my relationship with both Adoke and Tambuwal forever,” Shettima said.
He also praised Adoke for his principles, courage, and willingness to forgive those who wronged him during his time in office.
The 26-chapter book presented at the event centers on the controversial OPL 245 deal—also known as the Malabu oil scandal—in which Shell and Eni paid $1.3 billion in 2011 for a deep-water oil block believed to contain up to nine billion barrels of crude.
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