A prominent human rights lawyer, Higher King, has applauded Vice President Kashim Shettima for boldly reaffirming a fundamental principle of Nigeria’s democracy — that a president lacks the constitutional power to remove any elected official from office.
Reacting to the Vice President’s recent statement, Higher King described it as “a courageous declaration of the obvious truth” and emphasized that Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution, as amended, does not empower the president to sack elected officials such as governors or local government chairmen.
“We have said this several times: the 1999 Constitution, as amended, does not give the President of Nigeria the powers to remove an elected governor — not even a councillor,” he said. “If you come into office through the ballot box, only the people who voted you in can vote you out. The principle is simple: only he who hires can fire. That is the law everywhere in the world.”
The legal expert further criticized what he termed the excessive powers of the Nigerian presidency, attributing the imbalance to colonial legacies.
“The Nigerian president has so much power that he sometimes believes he is God,” King said. “This mindset stems from the British colonial era. When the British ruled Nigeria and other parts of Africa, they made the Governor-General appear as a godlike figure. They dethroned our kings and queens, dismantled indigenous institutions, and replaced them with their own structures — all while maintaining a powerful monarchy back in London. That colonial mentality has sadly persisted.”
Higher King stressed the need for constitutional reforms that reflect true federalism and uphold the sanctity of the people’s mandate in a democratic system.
His remarks follow a recent comment by Vice President Kashim Shettima, who publicly stated that it is unconstitutional for a sitting president to remove an elected government by any means. Shettima referenced his own experience during the peak of the Boko Haram insurgency in Borno State, saying it was the counsel of legal expert Ahmed Adokiyi that prevented then-President Goodluck Jonathan from removing him from office.
The Vice President’s statement has reignited national discourse on the limits of executive power and the importance of respecting democratic processes.
