Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has revealed how he survived an alleged plot by the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan to remove him from office as Governor of Borno State.
He recalled that he was demonised and became public enemy number one over false allegations during the last four years of Jonathan’s presidency.
Shettima spoke on Thursday during the public presentation of a new book, OPL245: Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Nigerian Oil Block, a memoir by former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke, held at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre.
Also speaking at the event, former President Goodluck Jonathan stated that Mohammed Adoke, who served as Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) during his administration, was hunted globally in connection with the oil prospecting lease (OPL) case.
Further elaborating on his alleged persecution by the Jonathan administration, Shettima noted that it took the courage of the then Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, and Adoke to inform President Jonathan that he did not have the constitutional authority to remove a sitting state governor.
He, however, disclosed that he and Jonathan have since reconciled.
Shettima said: “In the last four years of the Jonathan administration, I was the most demonised person. I was public enemy number one. And there are two gentlemen seated here who took certain decisions in a very rare case: the former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke, and former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.
“Former President Goodluck Jonathan, with whom I have now recalibrated my relationship, was mooting the idea of removing me as the Governor of Borno State. Tambuwal, the then Speaker, had the courage to tell the President, ‘Your Excellency, you don’t have the power to remove even a councillor of a local government’. The President was still not convinced.
“He mooted the idea at the Federal Executive Council. I admire Mr Mohammed Bello Adoke fundamentally for his courage, his conviction, and his capacity to stand for what he believes in. He told the then President, ‘Mr President, you do not have the power to remove the Governor’.”
According to Shettima, other key cabinet members at the time failed to support the move, and that was how the matter was eventually dropped.
He added that this experience marked the beginning of a lasting relationship with Adoke and Tambuwal.
Shettima commended Adoke for what he described as a reconciliatory gesture. “I commend you for forgiving all those that offended you during your ordeal.”
On his part, former President Goodluck Jonathan, who was represented by former Senate President Anyim Pius Anyim, said Adoke was pursued globally during the OPL case.
He described Adoke’s memoir as an attempt to tell the truth and set the record straight.
Jonathan expressed regret that shortly after his tenure ended in 2015, “the succeeding government launched what many people saw as a manhunt against key officers” of his administration.
“The author of this memoir, Mr Bello Adoke, was the Attorney General of the Federation at that time. He was hunted across the globe,” he said.
“But today, he’s alive, he’s healthy, he’s here to tell his story. Let me, therefore, use this occasion to congratulate Mr Bello Adoke, my friend and my brother, for his doggedness, and to say that I am pleased to join you in celebrating this victory.”
He urged everyone to remain conscious of the fact that power belongs to God.
Jonathan said the best anyone blessed with the opportunity to hold public office can do is to commit to the assignment and use the opportunity to uphold truth, justice, and fairness.
“I want to state, as always, that it is acknowledged among all civilisations that any society or organisation that does not promote justice and fairness will neither have peace nor make progress,” he said.
“The essence of the author’s effort in documenting his memoir is not only to put the record straight, but to contribute to the cause of truth and justice as the foremost pillars of nation-building.”
The former President expressed how proud he was of Adoke and congratulated the former AGF for the “wisdom and the courage to put down his own side of the story in the book we are about to present today.”
OPL 245 was awarded to Malabu Oil and Gas in 1998 by the Sani Abacha administration. The memoir details Adoke’s experience with the legal proceedings and public scrutiny over the 2011 oil block deal, which involved the transfer of the OPL 245 licence to Shell and Eni.
The former Attorney General, Adoke, in his remarks, said he had forgiven all those behind his persecution, both in the legal and political controversies surrounding his role in the OPL 245 oil block case.
Speaking at the event, Adoke stated that the purpose of the book was to provide clarity and personal context, not to attack anyone. “This book is not written to denigrate anyone,” he said.
“It is meant to put the records straight and offer my account of what transpired.”
He added that although the court cases and the surrounding controversy took a toll on his life, he had chosen to move on. “I have forgiven everyone behind my ordeal,” he said.
“After the verdicts of the various courts, I initially returned to exile. It was Vice President Kashim Shettima who encouraged me to return and bring closure to the matter,” he stated.
Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, on his part, described the launching of the book as a unifying force, bringing Nigerians across various political divides under one roof, saying this was the kind of elite consensus needed to move Nigeria forward.
“I like so many things about the author, Mohammed. I call him Malam B. One thing he has done today is that he has brought together inside here APC (All Progressives Congress), PDP (Peoples Democratic Party), and coalition; so this is a good way to start elite consensus for the future of Nigeria,” he stated.
He noted that the book is not simply a retrospective on a deal but a personal testimony from someone who held public trust and bore institutional responsibility during turbulent moments in the nation’s oil and gas sector.
Also speaking at the event, former Senate President Bukola Saraki highlighted the broader implications of the case for Nigeria’s oil sector. “The oil sector is such an important part of our economy. We need to ensure that the process is more transparent and accountable,” Saraki said.
Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai, who also attended, noted that books like Adoke’s offer critical personal perspectives. “Such accounts are necessary to help the public understand the experiences of those who have been accused and tried. They enable those persecuted to put things in perspective,” El-Rufai stated.
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