President Bola Tinubu’s bid to secure legislative approval for the state of emergency in Rivers State hit a setback on Wednesday as the House of Representatives failed to vote on the matter due to low attendance.
The Nigerian Constitution, under Section 305, requires that any presidential declaration of emergency be approved by a two-thirds majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate within two days of issuance.
However, the House of Reps plenary saw less than 80 lawmakers in attendance—far below the 120 members needed to form a quorum in the 360-member chamber—making it impossible to make a binding decision on the controversial declaration.
The House convened on Wednesday morning with Tinubu’s emergency proclamation listed under messages from the president. However, due to the low turnout, lawmakers could not proceed with an official vote, as House rules require a one-third quorum for any decision to be legally binding.
The chamber could only discuss motions and receive petitions.
Reports suggest that some lawmakers deliberately avoided the session to distance themselves from what critics call an “unconstitutional overreach” by the president.
Recall that President Tinubu, in a national broadcast on Tuesday evening, suspended Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his Deputy Ngozi Odu, and all members of the State House of Assembly for six months.
As part of the emergency rule, Tinubu appointed retired Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (Rtd.), as sole administrator of the state.
Meanwhile, many have expressed concern, arguing that the Nigerian Constitution does not grant the president power to remove an elected governor.