The Presidency has dismissed claims of a rift between President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima over the six-month suspension of Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, describing such reports as misleading and politically motivated.

In a statement on Friday, Shettima’s media aide, Stanley Nkwocha, condemned what he called “gross misrepresentation” of the Vice President’s comments at the launch of a book by former Attorney-General Mohammed Bello Adoke in Abuja.

The Presidency stressed that Shettima’s remarks, which referenced how the Jonathan administration once considered removing him as Borno State Governor during the height of the Boko Haram insurgency, were taken out of context.

“Shettima’s remarks were a tribute to Adoke’s professionalism and a reflection on Nigeria’s constitutional evolution,” the statement read. “They were not a criticism of President Tinubu or the decision to suspend Governor Fubara.”

It clarified that Fubara was not removed from office, but temporarily suspended in line with the 1999 Constitution to prevent a breakdown of law and order amid the political crisis that engulfed Rivers earlier this year.

The statement explained that Tinubu’s actions followed Section 305(3)(c) of the Constitution, which permits extraordinary measures where public safety is under threat. The situation in Rivers, it said, met this threshold due to escalating political violence, paralysis of governance, and attacks on public infrastructure.

The suspension, backed by a bipartisan vote in the National Assembly, was aimed at preserving democratic order and preventing further instability, the Presidency added.

“There is no conflict between the Vice President and the President,” the statement concluded. “Shettima remains fully aligned with Tinubu’s leadership and the collective resolve to safeguard democracy.”