– Governors elected into office on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have headed to the Supreme Court to seek redress following the declaration of state of emergency in Rivers State by President Bola Tinubu on March 18.
Specifically, the lawsuit instituted by the governors at the apex court is challenging President Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State.
The PDP governors, comprising leaders from Bauchi, Adamawa, Bayelsa, Enugu, Osun, Plateau, and Zamfara states, contended in court processes that the president lacked the constitutional power to suspend a democratically elected governor and deputy governor.
By the suit, the plaintiffs are praying for a declaration that the president’s actions breached sections 1(2), 5(2), and 305 of the 1999 constitution (as amended).
They want the apex court to make an order nullifying the appointment of Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas as the sole administrator of Rivers, declaring it unlawful and in gross violation of the constitution.
Furthermore, the governors want the court to restrain the president from further attempts to suspend other governors or interfere with their constitutional duties.
They argued that the president has “no powers whatsoever or vires to suspend a democratically elected governor and deputy governor of a state in the federation of Nigeria under the guise of or pursuant to the proclamation of a state of emergency.”
In their submission to the court, the PDP governors further posited that the emergency proclamation did not meet the constitutional requirements set by Section 305.
“The proclamation failed to meet the stipulated conditions and procedures for such a declaration and was made for reasons beyond those specified in the said constitutional provision,” the governors contended.
The governors, though not directly affected by the emergency rule, said they are pursuing the case to set a legal precedent.
In addition, it was the argument of the PDP governors that the appointment of a sole administrator is unconstitutional, and therefore null and void.
More so, the governors told the Supreme Court that the voice vote adopted by the National Assembly to approve the state of emergency was illegal, insisting that the use of a voice vote was “unconstitutional”.
They posited that the constitution stipulated a two-third majority vote from all members of each legislative chamber to make such approval.
The emergency rule, declared on March 18, 2025, led to the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and all members of the state House of Assembly for six months. Retired Vice-Admiral IbokEte Ibas was appointed as the sole administrator of the state.
