Mr Shettima’s comment which has been interpreted to mean he will act as the commander-in-chief if elected vice president...
, said he will concentrate on fighting insecurity in the country if the ruling party is elected in next year’s presidential election.
According to Section 130 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. “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.
Another lawyer, Tunji Abayomi, said the statement of the APC VP candidate is being taken out of context. He ruled out the possibility of a civilian ever leading Nigerian troops and mocked the APC VP candidate’s stance.