PDP Governors file lawsuit petitioning supreme court to stop emergency rule in Rivers

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.