Vice President Kashim Shettima has claimed he was the “most demonised” public figure during the final years of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.
Shettima, a former Borno State governor, stated this in Abuja on Thursday during the public presentation of OPL 245: Inside Story of the $1.3bn Nigeria Oil Block, a book written by former Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke.
Shettima said, “In the last four years of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, I was the most demonised person; I was the public enemy number one.
“There are two gentlemen seated here. Certain decisions are taken in a very rare peace circle. The President, the Vice President, the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
“In one of such conclaves, former President Goodluck Jonathan, with whom we have sheathed the sword and have now recalibrated our relationship, was muting the idea of removing this Borno governor.
“Aminu Tambuwal, the then Speaker of the House of Representatives, had the courage to tell the President that your Excellency, you don’t have the powers to remove an elected councillor.
“The President was still not convinced, he muted the idea at the Federal Executive Council.”
Shettima added that Jonathan later brought up the idea at the Federal Executive Council meeting but was told by Adoke that such a move was unconstitutional.
The Vice President expressed his admiration to Adoke for his courage, conviction and capacity to stand for what he believes in.
“He (Mr Adoke) told the then President that Mr President you do not have the powers to remove a sitting governor, not even a councillor.
“They sought for the opinion of another SAN in the cabinet, Kabiru Turaki, who said I’m concurring with the opinion of my senior colleague.
“That was how the matter was laid to rest but that was how my relationship with Mr Adoke and Aminu Tambuwal became eternally sealed,” he stated.
Shettima also commended Adoke for the courage to forgive all those who had offended him in the course of his public duty.
The 26-chapter book on the OPL 245, also known as the Malabu oil deal scandal, centres on a 2011 agreement in which Royal Dutch Shell and Italy’s Eni paid $1.3 billion to acquire Nigeria’s deep-water oil licence.
The oil block is believed to hold nine billion barrels of crude.
NAN
