The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has raised a strident alarm over the Supreme Court’s ruling on the President’s use of emergency powers, warning that the interpretation of the judgment poses “grave dangers” to Nigeria’s democratic landscape.
Naijaonpoint reports that the PDP was reacting to the Supreme Court ruling that affirmed the authority of the President to declare a State of Emergency and suspend elected officials.
While respecting the finality of the court, the PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, stated their deep concern over the judgement is anchored on the potential for the ruling to allow the Presidency to dismantle the democratic structures of a federating unit.
The PDP argued that to interpret the ruling as empowering the President to remove – even temporarily – an elected Governor, Deputy Governor, or House of Assembly is dangerous.
The party stressed that no person or institution, other than the State House of Assembly or a court of law, is empowered to remove a Governor during their 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,” the statement read.
The PDP fears the judgment could reverse “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 – a trend the PDP claims is “already witnessing.”
The party warned of a “troubling” logical extension of the court’s reasoning based on Section 305(3)(c) (extraordinary measures to restore peace and security), arguing it could eventually be interpreted to justify the suspension of other constitutional institutions, “including the judiciary itself.”
“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 PDP argued.
The party, committed to the consolidation of democracy, issued a clear call to action to the National Assembly to urgently initiate constitutional and legislative safeguards to clearly define and limit the scope of the President’s emergency powers to prevent imminent abuse.
It urged Nigerians, civil society, the media, and the international democratic community to remain vigilant in the defence of constitutionalism, federalism, and the sanctity of the electoral mandate.
The party stated that it remains hopeful that the Supreme Court will, at its next opportunity, “extensively clarify the constitutional boundaries of emergency powers,” in the interest of long-term stability.