Supreme Court to hear PDP Governors’ suit after Easter

The Supreme Court is expected to schedule a hearing after the Easter vacation for the case filed by 11 governors from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challenging the state of emergency declared in Rivers State.

Dr. Festus Akande, the court’s Director of Information and Public Relations, confirmed that the case would be addressed once the justices resume at the end of the Easter break. “The court is currently on vacation. A hearing date will be fixed when the justices return,” he said.

The case, registered as SC/CV/329/2025, questions President Bola Tinubu’s constitutional powers to suspend a democratically elected government in any Nigerian state.

The governors are also disputing the appointment of a Sole Administrator to oversee the state’s governance.

President Tinubu, on March 18, announced a state of emergency in Rivers State, suspending Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and all members of the State House of Assembly for six months.

He then appointed retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas as the Sole Administrator of the state.

In reaction, governors from 11 PDP-controlled states—Adamawa, Enugu, Osun, Oyo, Bauchi, Akwa Ibom, Plateau, Delta, Taraba, Zamfara, and Bayelsa—filed a legal challenge, naming the Attorney General of the Federation and the National Assembly as defendants.

The governors are urging the court to interpret sections of the 1999 Constitution—specifically Sections 1(2), 5(2), 176, 180, 188, and 305—to determine if the President has the legal right to suspend elected governors and appoint unelected officials under the pretext of emergency governance.

They are also asking the court to assess whether Sections 1(2), 4(6), 11(4) & (5), 90, 105, and 305 grant the President the authority to suspend a state legislature in similar conditions.

The suit further challenges alleged threats from the Attorney General on behalf of the President to suspend other governors and deputies, which the plaintiffs claim contradicts constitutional tenets and undermines democratic federalism.