PDP governors to challenge Rivers emergency rule in supreme court
Governors from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are set to sue President Bola Tinubu over his declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State.
The suit, set to be filed at the Supreme Court this week, also names the National Assembly as a defendant.
On March 18, President Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers state, citing an ongoing political crisis and the destruction of oil installations.
As part of the declaration, the president suspended Rivers Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and all members of the state’s House of Assembly for six months. He also appointed retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas as the sole administrator of the state.
The emergency rule was controversially approved by both the Senate and the House of Representatives on Thursday.
At a virtual meeting on Wednesday, PDP governors expressed their intention to challenge the emergency rule in court.
The lawsuit will be filed by PDP governors from Bauchi, Adamawa, Bayelsa, Enugu, Osun, Plateau, and Zamfara states, according to sources familiar with the matter.
However, due to a prior ruling from the Supreme Court, Governor Fubara is unable to join the suit. This is because he would need authorization from the current administration in Rivers, which is impossible, given that the administrator directly reports to the president, who is being sued by the PDP governors.
The governors are requesting the court to declare that, under the Nigerian Constitution (specifically Sections 1(2), 5(2), and 305), the president has no authority to suspend a democratically elected governor or deputy governor in any state under the pretext of declaring a state of emergency.
They also seek a ruling stating that the president lacks the power to suspend a state’s democratically elected House of Assembly under Sections 192(4)(6) and 305 of the Nigerian Constitution.
Additionally, the plaintiffs want the Supreme Court to declare the suspension of Governor Fubara, his deputy, and members of the Rivers State Assembly unconstitutional and illegal, violating the Constitution.
The governors are also challenging the appointment of Ibok-Ete Ibas as the state’s sole administrator, arguing that the president does not have the constitutional authority to make such an appointment. They are seeking the court to nullify Ibas’ appointment.
Furthermore, the plaintiffs argue that the president’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State did not meet the constitutional requirements outlined in Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution. They claim the declaration was made without adhering to the necessary conditions and for reasons beyond those specified in the Constitution.
The governors also contend that the National Assembly’s approval of the emergency rule by a voice vote is invalid, as the Constitution requires a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers.
While it remains unclear whether the governors have standing to bring the suit, as none of them are directly affected by the emergency rule, sources say they are determined to challenge the matter in court for the sake of setting a legal precedent..
