The Supreme Court’s endorsement of the state of emergency in Rivers State, has effectively handed President Bola Tinubu the weapon, not only to act God, but to put the states in his pocket, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), lamented on Monday.
Reacting, hours after the apex court threw out its case challenging the President’s imposition of emergency rule in the state for six, which lasted from March to September, the party, which conveyed its position through Ini Ememobong, its spokesperson, said the verdict indicated a dangerous democratic bend with far-reaching implications for federalism and constitutional governance.
PDP said in a statement: “While we respect the authority of the apex court and recognise its finality within our jurisdiction, we are nevertheless compelled to draw attention to the grave dangers that can emanate from the interpretation of the reasoning in this judgement on the political landscape of our country.
“Our concern is anchored on the age-long principle of law that the express mention of one thing excludes others (expressio unius est exclusio alterius), and the clear constitutional position that no person or institution (other than the state house of assembly or a court of law) is empowered to remove a governor from office, even temporarily, during the subsistence of a constitutional term.
“To hold otherwise is to create a pathway by which a president, with the active support of the national assembly, can compel political alignment or compliance through the instrumentality of emergency powers in ways not envisaged by the constitution.
“We submit that the interpretation of this judgment has the potential to reverse the hard-won democratic gains by unwittingly making state governments completely subservient to the federal government, forcing them to seek to ‘connect to the centre’ by joining the ruling party, as we are already witnessing.
“We cannot reconcile how, in a federation (not a unitary state), an elected president can be empowered to dismantle the democratic structures of a federating unit, sack elected officials, and appoint leaders there, without consciously promoting authoritarianism and entrenching tyranny.
“The National Assembly must urgently initiate constitutional and legislative safeguards to clearly define and limit the scope of the president’s emergency powers, to prevent imminent abuse and preserve Nigeria’s federation.”
