A prominent chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has criticized President Bola Tinubu over the alleged sidelining of Vice President Kashim Shettima, accusing the administration of reducing the nation’s second-highest office to a ceremonial role.
Eze, a former National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New Peoples Democratic Party, expressed dismay over what he described as the demeaning assignments given to the Vice President, claiming he has been limited to attending social events rather than playing a substantive governance role.
“As much as I am not a supporter of Vice President Kashim Shettima, I must state as a concerned Nigerian that I am not happy with the way and manner such a highly profiled politician is being treated by this administration and turning such a highly respected politician to an agent of government solely for attending wedding and burial ceremonies. This is sad, unfortunate and unacceptable,” he said.
Eze also questioned President Tinubu’s refusal to hand over power to Shettima during his foreign trips, despite numerous opportunities to do so.
“He may not have the courage to voice out his frustration but the fact remains that for the two years that he has serviced as the Vice President of this country and the number of times that President Tinubu has traveled outside this country, Mr President has not found it fit and needful to handover power to the Vice President,” Eze stated.
Describing the development as unconstitutional, Eze warned that the office of the Vice President is not a symbolic role to be sacrificed for political convenience. “This act is not only condemnable but against the spirit and letters of the Constitution of this country,” he added.
