President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been dragged before the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt over the controversial Rivers State local government elections held on August 30, 2025.
The suit, filed on September 11 by a lawyer, Clifford Nnanta Chuku, is asking the court to nullify the polls and declare unconstitutional the Emergency Powers Regulation introduced by the President to guide the elections.
Naijaonpoint reports that Chuku argued that the regulation, which suspended parts of the Electoral Act 2022 as well as Rivers State electoral laws, violated the constitution and undermined democracy.
According to him, the President’s decision to tamper with existing legal provisions amounted to an overreach of executive powers and a restriction of the democratic rights of Rivers people.
In the suit, marked FHC/PH/CS/173/2025, Tinubu, the Federal Government, the Attorney General of the Federation, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) were all joined as defendants.
The lawyer is also contending that RSIEC’s notice for the elections failed to meet the legally required timelines.
Chuku is therefore asking the court to strike down the regulation, void the August 30 elections, and compel RSIEC to organise fresh polls in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act and other relevant laws.
The matter has been fixed for hearing on October 21, 2025.
Naijaonpoint reports that the case could have far-reaching implications for Nigeria’s electoral process, as it would test the extent to which a sitting President can exercise emergency powers in relation to elections.
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