The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has rejected the Presidency’s response to Vice President Kashim Shettima’s recent remarks concerning the President’s constitutional powers, labelling it “a mere attempt at political correctness.”
The party criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, accusing him of overstepping constitutional limits and undermining democratic governance in Rivers State.
In a statement released on Friday, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, ADC’s Interim National Publicity Secretary and Spokesperson, defended the Vice President’s position, maintaining that his comments were rooted in constitutional truth.
Abdullahi said, “The truth must not be lost in the fog of political correctness. The Vice President needs to stand by his forthright and courageous statement, which affirms that the President has no constitutional power to remove an elected councilor, not to talk of a sitting Governor.”
The ADC argued that the Governor’s suspension in Rivers State lacks constitutional validity and threatens Nigeria’s democratic structure.
“This simple truth, which is anchored in the Nigerian Constitution, must not be lost in the fog of political correctness that is currently emanating from Aso Rock. Truth does not respect political correctness, because what is wrong is wrong. What made the removal of an elected governor wrong and unconstitutional under President Jonathan in the case of Borno State, is the same that makes it wrong and unconstitutional under President Tinubu in the case of Rivers State,” the statement added.
The party compared Tinubu’s actions to those of former President Goodluck Jonathan, noting that despite facing national security threats, Jonathan still respected constitutional boundaries.
“In declaring a state of emergency in the affected states under these dire circumstances, President Jonathan recognised the limits of his constitutional powers and he respected it,” ADC noted.
Highlighting Shettima’s personal experience in 2014, the ADC recalled that then-Speaker Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal and the Attorney General, Mohammed Bello Adoke, upheld the constitutional position that the President lacked the authority to remove an elected governor.
“This is not just history. It is precedent,” the party stressed, calling on President Tinubu to restore democratic governance in Rivers State and cease actions that contravene constitutional provisions.