A faction of the Peoples Democratic Party has raised concerns over a Supreme Court judgment that backs the president’s power to declare emergency rule and suspend elected state officials under certain conditions.
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The reaction followed the apex court’s decision on a suit filed by Adamawa State and ten other PDP-led states challenging President Bola Tinubu’s emergency declaration in Rivers State, which led to the suspension of the governor and other officials.
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The Supreme Court ruled in a split decision that the president can invoke emergency powers to prevent chaos and may suspend elected officials for a limited time, even though it struck out the suit on grounds of jurisdiction.
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The PDP said the interpretation of the judgment could weaken Nigeria’s federal system by placing too much power in the hands of the president and making state governments vulnerable to pressure from the centre.
An Aba-based lawyer, Emperor Ogbonna, also criticised the ruling, arguing that the constitution does not allow a president to suspend governors and warning that such power could be abused to silence political opposition.
However, human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong said the court did not clearly approve the Rivers emergency rule, noting that the case was struck out and that some comments made by the justices were not binding, while also pointing out flaws in how the National Assembly handled the approval process.
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