By Agboola Aluko, GLiDE NEWS – Lagos | April 9, 2025
E leven governors under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have approached the Supreme Court to challenge the legality of President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State and the suspension of its democratically elected officials.
The governors are contesting the constitutionality of the President’s action, particularly the removal of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Mrs Ngozi Odu, and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly. The suspension, announced on March 18, also saw the appointment of retired Vice Admiral Ibok Ete Ibas as the sole administrator of the state for a period of six months.
The suit, marked SC/CV/329/2025, was filed at the Supreme Court by the attorneys general of the 11 PDP-led states: Adamawa, Enugu, Osun, Oyo, Bauchi, Akwa Ibom, Plateau, Delta, Taraba, Zamfara, and Bayelsa.
In the suit, the governors asked the apex court to interpret key provisions of the 1999 Constitution and to determine whether the President holds any lawful power to interfere with or suspend elected officials of a federating state.
The governors queried the legality of Tinubu’s action under Sections 1(2), 5(2), 176, 180, 188, and 305 of the Constitution. They questioned whether the President can remove elected state officials and install an unelected administrator under the guise of a state of emergency.
They also challenged the suspension of the Rivers State House of Assembly, asking the court to interpret whether this action—under the same emergency rule—was constitutional based on Sections 4(6), 11(4 & 5), 90, 105, and 305.
A portion of the filing reads:
“Whether… the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria can lawfully suspend or in any manner whatsoever interfere with the offices of a Governor and Deputy Governor… and replace same with his own unelected nominee as a Sole Administrator… under a Proclamation of a State of Emergency?”
The suit also contests what the governors describe as a threatening precedent, in which the federal government, by way of emergency powers, could unilaterally suspend governors and state assemblies—a move the plaintiffs argue undermines constitutional federalism.
The respondents named in the suit are expected to enter appearances within 14 days of being served.
This legal challenge ends weeks of speculation surrounding the PDP governors' response to the federal government’s action in Rivers State. Though earlier reports hinted that seven governors had initiated legal proceedings, this latest development confirms the involvement of all eleven.
Sources from both the Supreme Court and the Ministry of Justice previously indicated they had not been served court papers, despite public claims about the suit's filing. One legal official at the Ministry disclosed that although preparations for a legal response had begun weeks earlier, service of the suit had not yet occurred.
Despite the delay, the governors appear determined to test the limits of federal authority and defend the integrity of state-level democratic institutions.
The Supreme Court is expected to set a hearing date soon.
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