…Calls for legislative safeguards, fears federal overreach
The Turaki led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has issued a warning, stating that the Supreme Court’s recent judgment on the Rivers State emergency powers case has steered the nation into a “dangerous democratic bend.”
The party’s alarm follows a split decision (six to one) by the apex court in suit SC/CV/329/2025, filed by the Attorney-General of Adamawa State against the Attorney-General of the Federation and the National Assembly.
While the court struck out the suit for lacking a cause of action, its accompanying comments have been widely interpreted as upholding President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State earlier this year, which led to the suspension of elected officials.
In a press release signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, the PDP stressed its respect for the court’s authority but expressed grave concern over the potential interpretation of the judgment’s reasoning.
The party anchored its worry on the constitutional principle that only a State House of Assembly or a court of law can remove a sitting governor. It argued that any contrary interpretation “is to create a pathway by which a President, with the active support of the National Assembly, can compel political alignment or compliance through the instrumentality of emergency powers in ways not envisaged by the Constitution.”
“We submit that the interpretation of this judgment has the potential to reverse the hard-won democratic gains by unwittingly making state governments completely subservient to the Federal Government, forcing them to seek to ‘connect to the centre’ by joining the ruling party, as we are already witnessing,” the statement read.
The PDP raised an even more troubling prospect, suggesting that the logic of the ruling could, in the future, be extended under Section 305(3)(c) of the Constitution to justify the suspension of other institutions, “including the judiciary itself.”
“We cannot reconcile how in a federation an elected President can be empowered to dismantle the democratic structures of a federating unit, sack elected officials and appoint leaders there, without consciously promoting authoritarianism and entrenching tyranny,” the party declared.
To avert what it sees as an imminent threat, the PDP has called on the National Assembly to “urgently initiate constitutional and legislative safeguards that clearly define and limit the scope of emergency powers of the president, to prevent imminent abuse and preserve Nigeria’s federation.”
It also urged Nigerians, civil society, the media, and the international community to remain vigilant in defending constitutionalism and federalism.
The party concluded by expressing hope that the Supreme Court would, at the next opportunity, “extensively clarify the constitutional boundaries of emergency powers, in the overriding interest of justice, democracy, and the long-term stability of our Republic.”
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