There is no doubt that the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has the power to declare a state of emergency in any part of Nigeria. But the constitution does not give the president the power to suspend an elected governor, deputy Governor, or even members of parliament.
Even the power to declare a state of emergency under Section 305 of the Constitution is not absolute. That is why section 305 (1) uses the language subject to the provisions of this constitution. The president is not the employer of the governor and deputy governor of Rivers State. He is also not the employer of the members of the State House of Assembly. The power to declare a state of emergency in any part of Nigeria or even in Nigeria must be exercised in accordance with the provisions of the 1999 constitution as amended and must not be exercised in flagrant abuse of the same constitution.
It is no news now that on the 18th of March 2025, President Ahmed Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State. He suspended the governor and his deputy and members of the State House of Assembly for six months in the first instance. The decision by the President is contrary to the provisions of the Constitution that stipulate that no part of Nigeria shall be governed otherwise than by democratic means. The appointment of a Sole Administrator in a democratic system is unquestionably unconstitutional and a democratic aberration.
The administrator appointed by the president did not stand any election in Rivers State, and he was never elected by the people of Rivers State democratically as required by the Nigerian constitution. In any case, the constitution set out the powers and the conditions before a state of emergency can be declared in Nigeria or any parts of Nigeria. Because of the importance of the position I want to canvass in this write-up, let me quote the constitution in extenso. Let me refer to section 305 of the constitution.
Section 305 of the 1999 constitution provides as follows: 305 (1) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the President may by instrument published in the Official -Gazette of the Government of the Federation issue a Proclamation of a state of emergency in the Federation or any part thereof.(2) The President shall immediately after the publication, transmit copies of the Official -Gazette of the Government of the Federation containing the proclamation including the details of the emergency to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, each of whom shall forthwith convene or arrange for a meeting of the House of which he is President or Speaker, as the case may be, to consider the situation and decide whether or not to pass a resolution approving the Proclamation.
Section 305 (3) of the constitution sets out the conditions upon which the President shall have the power to issue a Proclamation of a state of emergency and this is only when –
(a) the Federation is at war;
(b) the Federation is in imminent danger of invasion or involvement in a state of war;
(c) There is an actual breakdown of public order and public safety in the Federation or any part thereof to such extent as to require extraordinary measures to restore peace and security;
(d) there is a clear and present danger of an actual breakdown of public order and public safety in the Federation or any part thereof requiring extraordinary measures to avert such danger;
(e) there is an occurrence or imminent danger, or the occurrence of any disaster or natural calamity, affecting the community or a section of the community in the Federation;
(f) there is any other public danger that clearly constitutes a threat to the existence of the Federation; or
(g) the President receives a request to do so in accordance with the provisions of subsection (4) of this section.
Section 305 (4) says: The Governor of a State may, with the sanction of a resolution supported by two-thirds majority of the House of Assembly, request the President to issue a Proclamation of a state of emergency in the State when there is in existence within the State any of the situations specified in subsection (3) (c), (d) and (e) of this section and such situation does not extend beyond the boundaries of the State.
Section 305 (5) says: The President shall not issue a Proclamation of a state of emergency in any case to which the provisions of subsection (4) of this section apply unless the Governor of the State fails within a reasonable time to make a request to the President to issue such Proclamation. Section 305 (6) of the constitution says: A Proclamation issued by the President under this section shall cease to have effect –
(a) if it is revoked by the President by instrument published in the Official Gazette of the Government of the Federation;
(b) if it affects the Federation or any part thereof and within two days when the National Assembly is in session, or within ten days when the National Assembly is not in session, after its publication, there is no resolution supported by two-thirds majority of all the members of each House of the National Assembly approving the Proclamation;
(c) after a period of six months has elapsed since it has been in force:
Provided that the National Assembly may, before the expiration of the period of six months aforesaid, extend the period for the Proclamation of the state of emergency to remain in force from time to time for a further period of six months by resolution passed in like manner; or
(d) at any time after the approval referred to in paragraph (b) or the extension referred to in paragraph (c) of this subsection, when each House of the National Assembly revokes the Proclamation by a simple majority of all the members of each House.
Now, section 305 (5) prohibits the president from making a declaration of a state of emergency unless certain events happen. It says: The President shall not issue a Proclamation of a state of emergency in any case to which the provisions of subsection (4) of this section apply unless the Governor of the State fails within a reasonable time to make a request to the President to issue such Proclamation.
Section 305 (4) put a duty on the governor to make a request to the president to make the declaration. It provides that: The Governor of a State may, with the sanction of a resolution supported by two-thirds majority of the House of Assembly, request the President to issue a Proclamation of a state of emergency in the State when there is in existence within the State any of the situations specified in subsection (3) (c), (d) and (e) of this section and such situation does not extend beyond the boundaries of the State.
Can it be reasonably said that the situations in section 305 (3) (c), (d) and (e) existed in Rivers State at the date the president purported to have the declaration of state of emergency. I do not think so. Many Nigerians of reasonable minds, too, do not think so. Let us see what the section is all about. These are the situations that can prompt the governor to make a request for a declaration of a state of emergency.
(c) There is actual breakdown of public order and public safety in the Federation or any part thereof to such extent as to require extraordinary measures to restore peace and security;
(d) there is a clear and present danger of an actual breakdown of public order and public safety in the Federation or any part thereof requiring extraordinary measures to avert such danger
(e) there is an occurrence or imminent danger, or the occurrence of any disaster or natural calamity, affecting the community or a section of the community in the Federation;and public safety in the Federation or any part thereof to such extent as to require extraordinary measures to restore peace and security.
Can it be said that these situations existed in Rivers State at the time Mr. President declared a state of emergency. I do not think so. But what do I know. The suspension of the Governor and his Deputy and the State House of Assembly is clearly an unacceptable and unconstitutional conduct on the part of Mr. President. The 1999 constitution deals with the processes of removal of state governors and deputies, and the powers to do so are not in Mr. President.
One may be tempted to ask. Is the president going to ignore the orders of the Supreme Court that restrained the release of money for Rivers State from the Federation Account unless there is appropriation law duly passed by the Rivers State House of Assembly. The president made copious references to the judgment of the Supreme Court. The way Mr. President declared this state of emergency, and in my humble view, I submit it was not actuated by respect for the Nigerian constitution. No, it was not. Mr. President, with respect, abused his powers of declaration of state of emergency, and this was done to satisfy partisan political interest and not the best interest of Nigerians and Rivers State in particular.
It is important to recall that during President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, now Mr. President was clear in his condemnation of the declaration of a State of Emergency in some states in the North by President Jonathan in 2013. This is what now Mr President said then: “The body language of the Jonathan administration leads any keen watcher of events to the unmistakable conclusion of the existence of a surreptitious but barely disguised intention to muzzle the elected governments of these states for what is clearly a display of unpardonable mediocrity and diabolic partisanship geared towards 2015.”
This is what citizen Bola Ahmed Tinubu said in 2013. Citizen Bola Ahmed TInubu is now the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. This is what Mr. President said in 2013 when Jonathan declared a state of emergency in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa States because of Boko Haram insurgency. But even then, the democratically elected officials were not even removed. Nigerians are worried about the trajectory of our democracy that is built around self-serving partisan interests instead of the best interest of the people.
The way Mr President has been handling this Rivers issue since inception gives the impression to any decerning minds that Mr President was not neutral. He seems to have taken sides and this declaration of a state of emergency does not have any other meaning than abuse of power in circumvention of the Nigerian constitution for purely partisan political interests. I say nothing more. Nigerians are watching.
