Battle For Rivers: Supreme Court To Hear PDP Governors’ Lawsuit Against Emergency Rule After Easter!

The Supreme Court of Nigeria is preparing to schedule a hearing for a lawsuit filed by 11 governors from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), contesting the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State.

According to The Punch, the case will be heard following the conclusion of the court’s Easter vacation.

Confirming this, the Supreme Court’s Director of Information and Public Relations, Festus Akande, explained that a date will be set for the hearing once the court resumes.

“The court is currently on break. Once the Justices return at the end of the month, a hearing date will be fixed,” Akande said.

At the heart of the legal challenge is the constitutionality of President Bola Tinubu’s decision to suspend a democratically elected state government and appoint a Sole Administrator to govern Rivers State.

The suit, filed under case number SC/CV/329/2025, seeks judicial clarification on whether the President possesses the constitutional authority to suspend the elected Governor, Deputy Governor, and the entire House of Assembly of Rivers State.

The 11 PDP-governed states bringing the suit are: Adamawa, Enugu, Osun, Oyo, Bauchi, Akwa Ibom, Plateau, Delta, Taraba, Zamfara, and Bayelsa. They are requesting the Supreme Court’s interpretation on the legality of the President’s emergency declaration and the appointment of retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas as Sole Administrator.

President Tinubu had on March 18, 2025, imposed a six-month emergency rule in Rivers, effectively suspending Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu, and all members of the State Assembly.

The suit is invoking several constitutional provisions—Sections 1(2), 5(2), 176, 180, 188, and 305 of the 1999 Constitution—to argue that the President lacks the power to override elected state officials or dissolve legislative bodies under the guise of emergency powers.

Furthermore, the PDP governors are expressing alarm over alleged threats made by the President—through the Attorney General of the Federation—to suspend other governors and their deputies. They contend that such moves would violate constitutional safeguards and undermine Nigeria’s federal structure.