By Peter Omopo
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has expressed concern over the implications of a recent Supreme Court judgment on the President’s powers to declare a state of emergency, warning that the ruling could pose a threat to Nigeria’s democratic and federal structures.
The Supreme Court delivered a split decision of six to one in a suit filed by the Attorney-General of Adamawa State and others against the Attorney-General of the Federation and the National Assembly (SC/CV/329/2025). The suit challenged the legality of the President’s authority to suspend democratically elected officials, including the Governor and Deputy Governor of Rivers State, as well as members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
Although the apex court struck out the case for lacking a cause of action, aspects of its commentary have been widely interpreted as affirming President Bola Tinubu’s earlier declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State.
Reacting in a statement on Monday, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, said the party respects the authority of the Supreme Court but expressed reservations about the reasoning behind the judgment.
According to the PDP, the court’s interpretation raises fundamental constitutional questions, particularly regarding the long-established legal principle that the express mention of one thing excludes others, and the constitutional provision that only a State House of Assembly or a court of law can remove a governor from office, even temporarily, during a valid term.
The party warned that the judgment, if broadly interpreted, could enable the President, with the backing of the National Assembly, to use emergency powers to exert political pressure on state governments, thereby weakening federalism.
The PDP also cautioned that such interpretations could, in the future, be extended to other constitutional institutions, including the judiciary.
The opposition party called on the National Assembly to introduce clear constitutional and legislative safeguards to define and limit the scope of presidential emergency powers. It further urged Nigerians, civil society organisations, the media and the international democratic community to remain vigilant in defending constitutionalism, federalism and the sanctity of the electoral mandate.
