By Chuks Eke
A social critic, Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor Esq. has described as the recent statement by Vice President Kashim Shettima in which he admitted that Nigeria’s President has no constitutional right or power to remove an elected Local Government Chairman or even a councilor from office, let alone a sitting Governor, as both a powerful reminder of what was once possible and a sobering reflection of what is at risk of being lost.
He contended that the legacy of defending a constitutional order must not be romanticized as a thing of the past but must be preserved and practiced as part of democratic principles.
Ejiofor, in a press statement issued on Friday, entitled: “Reflections on power, principle and the irony of time – Shettima’s remark and the contradictions of today”, insisted that though Nigeria’s democracy is still young but it’s guardians must not selectively interpret or apply it’s tenets.
According to the critic, “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, AGF, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), played a pivotal role in shielding him from an unlawful attempt to remove him as Governor of Borno State”.
“Shettima 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”, Sir Ejiofor stated.
