Eleven governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have taken their legal battle to the Supreme Court, challenging President Bola Tinubu’s suspension of democratic institutions in Rivers State, which they argue constitutes an abuse of executive power.
Filed on Tuesday, the lawsuit seeks a constitutional interpretation regarding the President’s authority to suspend elected state officials and impose emergency rule. It also questions the legality of appointing a sole administrator to govern the state during the suspension period.
While earlier reports suggested the case had already been filed, Dr. Festus Akande, Director of Information and Public Relations at the Supreme Court, confirmed to The PUNCH that the filing was officially submitted on April 2.
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PRESIDENT TINUBU DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY
President Tinubu’s contentious declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State on March 18 led to the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu, and the entire State House of Assembly. In their stead, retired Vice Admiral Ibok Ete Ibas was appointed as sole administrator for an initial term of six months, a move subsequently approved by the National Assembly.
Outraged by the decision affecting one of their own, the PDP governors have initiated a constitutional challenge. The states backing the lawsuit include Adamawa, Enugu, Osun, Oyo, Bauchi, Akwa Ibom, Plateau, Delta, Taraba, Zamfara, and Bayelsa. Filed by the attorneys general of these states under suit number SC/CV/329/2025, the case is anchored on eight constitutional grounds.
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The governors are asking the Supreme Court to determine whether President Tinubu exceeded his constitutional authority by suspending elected state leaders and installing an unelected administrator under emergency rule. They also seek clarification on whether the emergency declaration complies with the 1999 Constitution or infringes on its fundamental principles.
The legal arguments reference several constitutional provisions, including Sections 1(2), 5(2), 176, 180, 188, and 305, which pertain to the structure of governance, emergency powers, and state autonomy.
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Additionally, the suit contests the suspension of the state legislature and raises broader concerns about growing executive encroachment on the independence of state institutions. The governors caution that this development could set a precedent for similar federal interventions in other states.
The Supreme Court has directed the respondents, including the Federal Government, to respond within 14 days of receiving the legal documents.
This legal action ends weeks of speculation over the opposition governors’ next move. Initially, only seven states—Bauchi, Adamawa, Bayelsa, Enugu, Osun, Plateau, and Zamfara—were named as plaintiffs, but four more later joined the challenge.
