11 PDP Governors File Lawsuit Urging Supreme Court to Stop Emergency Rule in Rivers

Eleven governors from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have filed a lawsuit at the Supreme Court challenging President Bola Tinubu’s authority to suspend a democratically elected government and impose a state of emergency in Rivers State.

The suit contests the legality of the President’s March 18 declaration of emergency rule, which resulted in the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu, and the entire Rivers State House of Assembly for an initial six-month period. Vice Admiral Ibok Ete Ibas (retd.) was appointed as the sole administrator to oversee the state during the suspension.

Filed under case number SC/CV/329/2025, the suit was officially submitted on Tuesday, as confirmed by the Supreme Court’s Director of Information and Public Relations, Dr. Festus Akande.

The plaintiffs—representing the states of Adamawa, Enugu, Osun, Oyo, Bauchi, Akwa Ibom, Plateau, Delta, Taraba, Zamfara, and Bayelsa—filed the suit through their respective state Attorneys General.

They are asking the Supreme Court to determine whether the President has the constitutional right to unilaterally suspend elected officials and replace them with an unelected administrator under the guise of a state of emergency.

The governors argue that the declaration and its execution violate multiple sections of the 1999 Constitution, including Sections 1(2), 4(6), 5(2), 11(4) & (5), 90, 105, 176, 180, 188, and 305.

The suit raises three core legal questions:
1.    Whether the President can lawfully suspend the Governor, Deputy Governor, or House of Assembly of any state and replace them with an unelected administrator under a state of emergency.
2.    Whether such a suspension violates the constitutional provisions protecting the autonomy of state governments under Nigeria’s federal structure.
3.    Whether public threats by federal officials suggesting that the President can suspend elected state officials are consistent with constitutional principles and federalism.

The respondents, including the Federal Government, are required to enter their appearance within 14 days of being served the court summons.

This legal action follows weeks of speculation surrounding the intentions of the PDP governors. Initially, seven PDP-controlled states—Bauchi, Adamawa, Bayelsa, Enugu, Osun, Plateau, and Zamfara—were believed to be preparing the suit. However, officials from the court and the Ministry of Justice previously indicated that they had not yet received the formal legal documents.

With the case now officially filed, the Supreme Court is expected to weigh in on what could become a landmark decision regarding the balance of power between the executive and elected state governments under Nigeria’s constitutional framework.