Wednesday, April 9, 2025 - Eleven governors from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have filed a suit at the Supreme Court challenging President Bola Tinubu’s powers to suspend a democratically elected government and declare a state of emergency in Rivers State.
The governors are contesting the legality of the President’s
March 18 declaration of emergency rule, which led to the suspension of Rivers
State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu, and the state’s
House of Assembly for an initial six-month period.
Vice Admiral Ibok Ete Ibas (retd.) was subsequently
appointed as the sole administrator to oversee the affairs of the state during
the suspension.
The suit, marked SC/CV/329/2025, was officially filed on
Tuesday, as confirmed by the Supreme Court’s Director of Information and Public
Relations, Dr. Festus Akande.
The plaintiffs include the states of Adamawa, Enugu, Osun,
Oyo, Bauchi, Akwa Ibom, Plateau, Delta, Taraba, Zamfara, and Bayelsa. Each of
the governors filed the suit through their respective state Attorneys General.
The governors are asking the Supreme Court to determine
whether the President has the constitutional authority to unilaterally suspend
elected officials and replace them with an unelected sole administrator under
the guise of a state of emergency.
They also argue that the method and manner of the emergency
declaration violate several sections of the 1999 Constitution, specifically
Sections 1(2), 4(6), 5(2), 11(4) & (5), 90, 105, 176, 180, 188, and 305.
The suit
raises three core legal questions:
1. Whether
the President can lawfully suspend the Governor, Deputy Governor, or House of
Assembly of any state and replace them with an unelected administrator under a
state of emergency.
2. Whether such a suspension violates the
constitutional provisions protecting the autonomy of state governments under
Nigeria’s federal structure.
3. Whether
public threats by federal officials suggesting that the President can suspend
elected state officials are consistent with constitutional principles and
federalism.
The respondents, including the Federal Government, are
expected to enter their appearance within 14 days of being served the summons.
This legal action follows weeks of speculation about the PDP
governors’ next steps. Initially, seven PDP states—Bauchi, Adamawa, Bayelsa,
Enugu, Osun, Plateau, and Zamfara—were reported to have planned the suit.
However, court and Ministry of Justice officials previously stated that they
had not yet been served the legal documents.
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