The All Progressives Congress (APC) Vice Presidential candidate, Kashim Shettima, said he will concentrate on fighting insecurity in the country if the ruling party is elected in next year’s presidential election.

Mr Shettima, who was a panellist at the just concluded Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) on Monday in Lagos, said he would personally lead the Nigerian military against criminals while his principal, Bola Tinubu, will oversee the economy.

“I have been in the theatre of conflicts for 18 years, I will lead the troops, my principal is an economy wizard who has transformed Lagos into the third largest economy in Africa. He will concentrate on the economy.

“By God’s grace, I will handle the security, and not only handle the security, I will lead the troops to battle across the length and breadth of this country,” he said.

Can the president lead the troops?
Mr Shettima’s comment which has been interpreted to mean he will act as the commander-in-chief if elected vice president, a role which is the constitutional preserve of the President or the acting president, has left Nigerians on social media wondering if he will usurp the role of his principal, Mr Tinubu.

According to Section 130(2) of the 1999 Constitution, the Nigerian president has the exclusive authority as the commander-in-chief of the country’s armed forces and not his deputy.

Other than the Section noted above, PREMIUM TIMES can confirm that no section empowers a VP to lead a troop of any number or size.

Chukwunomso Ogbe, a political analyst and lawyer, noted that it is out of his place as a vice presidential candidate to aspire for the lofty right of a president.

He argued that the former Borno governor can only do what he said if his principal, Mr Tinubu, willingly passed such power down to him but not by his mere expression of passion to serve.

The role of the VP is subservient to the office of the president. In other words, he can play the role of the president in his absence, including giving military orders to execute.

“If you have a VP that is ready and willing to take proactive security measures to protect the citizens and then you have a president that is not comfortable with that idea, the idea of that VP will never fly because he is a constitutionally recognised commander-in-chief. That is the provision of the law.

“With due respect to what the APC vice presidential candidate said, his statement is laudable but it is still subjected to the will and caprices of the president if his party wins the election.

“It doesn’t matter whether he has military experience or not, a civilian, by the virtue of his office, is entitled to some privileges. One of such is the title of commander-in-chief and nothing stops him from participating in military exercises or functions. Whether he has military experience or not is a different ball game.

“For Shettima, he is just contesting for a VP seat and even if they should win this election, he can only be a second in command and not the commander-in-chief. It is only a president, as a civilian, that can make his kind of statement with passion,” he told PREMIUM TIMES.

Another lawyer, Tunji Abayomi, said the statement of the APC VP candidate is being taken out of context.

He described Mr Shettima’s statement as an undue noise widely exaggerated to discredit his candidacy.

“His thoughts are mere proposals and contemplations. Constitutionally, it can be accepted and rejected by the commander-in-chief. That’s number one and I am quite sure that he spoke about his responsibility to his commander-in-chief, his principal.

“The second is that there is so much noise about nothing in my view. People saying he is laying the foundation to take over power. I think it is an undue exaggeration. Let’s even assume that he will be the commander-in-chief. Where a commander is under another commander-in-chief, the commander’s command becomes immaterial. We have nothing to worry about.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/550663-2023-ill-handle-security-while-tinubu-will-handle-economy-if-elected-apc-vp-candidate.html

E just clear me 100% now say dis man na bokoharam

Get ur Pencil portrait

,

Futility of purpose, they have started on the wrong foot .
A banker handling security while his counterpart that's supposed to be the commander in mischief handling economy

Weyrey

...

Abeg make una tell us another lie. We don hear this one before.

u see how they take tinubu? Shettima have already overthrown the GCFR even before they win to show u tinubu na real vegetable

Yeye...

Go and handle it now, APC is still power. Else allow Obi Datti to handle it.

This sounds familiar. I wonder where I heard this before...

Quest7777:
...

Abeg make una tell us another lie. We don hear this one before.

Exactly. Can't even come up with fresh lies.

Its unfortunate that Shettima who aided and pleaded for leniency for Boko Haram members as former Governor of Borno State is talking of handling security.

The Suleja Christmas day bomber "Kabir Sokoto" was hiding in Kashim Shettima's house in Abuja while on the run from the Police and security agencies.

This statement by Shettima means that he will overthrow Tinubu who is supposed to be the GCFR in charge of security of the nation.

Everything about Shettima and Tinubu's ambitions is an obvious red flag and dangerous signs to Nigeria.

Buhari and osinbajo said exactly the same thing but look at were we are now.

This is super storyyyyyyyyy

Na so...


Na to just press one button and your battalion of BH soldiers go pause action.


Well done field marshall of BH shittima

That is to say as vp you'll be Commander in chief of the armed forces... Una confusion don start before election sef.... We no gree..
2023 there's gonna be a paradigm shift on status quo

Keyamo will not pick his call until he comes up with a suitable lie.

The same insecurity you helped started? God what do this people take us for. Our damn eyes are open.
ObiDatti

MONUMENTAL LIE

Look at them. They don come again ooooooo.

HedwigesMaduro:
This sounds familiar. I wonder where I heard this before...

General Buhari will handle security while Prof Osibanjo will handle the economy. New sheriff in town with body language and odour. Is even difficult or nearly impossible for our general to travel to his village by road without being attacked. Shetima as a Governor did not do anything special to contain Boko Haram instead he used it to discredit the then president. What concerns a banker with military matter?

The Tinubu-Shetima's ticket screams red flags everywhere, no matter how you look at it.

I wonder how people in their right senses will be supporting such a senseless and stupid aspiration.

That's how someone said that "Isn't it better for a Boko Haram supporter to be the one to lead the fight against Boko Haram? That he'll know where all their top people are and will be able to communicate better with them."

The more they try to sell their candidates, the dumber they sound. Like WTH?

Yes he will appoint Shekau as Minister of Defence.

.

Mastakija:
E just clear me 100% now say dis man na bokoharam

Get ur Pencil portrait

HedwigesMaduro:
This sounds familiar. I wonder where I heard this before...

Lol....

When Islamists want to take over power. They get in little by little. This is an indication of how it is going to be.

This Boko Haram hiding nigga knows exactly what he is saying. It is us in the southwest I so pity. We shall be killed and our carcasses thrown to the dogs. Our places of worships shall be bombed and torned down. BH will invade the SW and there is utterly nothing we can do about it.

Just like we shouted up to high heavens that you should not vote Buhari who is known to be an ethnic jingojist,today the whole of Nigeria has been invaded with Fulani herdsmen killing with sorrow and tears on their pathway.

So shall it be if these agents of the devil get into power. This is not a doomsday prediction,it is what will happen.

Security? Was this a game plan all along?

Hmm, ile lati n ko esho ro'de, can someone gives what he doesn't have, how is shettima's borno security, when he was governor there? Talking about his friend handling the economy, walahi the baba is a good economy handler, but most of the economy gain will still end up in his pocket, leaving the masses stranded, if you think otherwise, you can take a visit to his companies headquarters, which is Lagos state, and investigate from lagosians.
N:B I mean lagosians with functioning brain, not those owo mi da ones o.

Like osibanjo and buhari did.

Boko haram with security?. See strategies to finally fulfill the islamization agenda