National Assembly Seeks Dismissal of PDP Governors’ Suit, Demands N1bn Penalty

The National Assembly has urged the Supreme Court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by 11 governors from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who are challenging President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State. In a preliminary objection dated April 22, 2025, the federal legislature described the suit as frivolous, speculative, and an abuse of judicial process, demanding N1 billion in costs against the plaintiffs.

The PDP governors—representing Adamawa, Enugu, Osun, Oyo, Bauchi, Akwa Ibom, Plateau, Delta, Taraba, Zamfara, and Bayelsa—filed suit number SC/CV/329/2025 before the Supreme Court, seeking to nullify the emergency declaration made on March 18, 2025. That proclamation had suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu, and the Rivers State House of Assembly for six months, with Rear Admiral Ibokette Ibas (retd.) appointed as sole administrator. The National Assembly had ratified the move via a voice vote.

The governors argued that the President lacks constitutional authority to suspend elected state officials or replace them with unelected appointees, and questioned the legality of the National Assembly’s voice vote approval. They asked the court to issue a perpetual injunction restraining both the President and the legislature from interfering with state offices under the guise of emergency proclamations. They also requested that the official gazette containing the proclamation be nullified.

However, the National Assembly contended that the suit lacked merit and procedural validity. It said the plaintiffs failed to serve the statutorily required three-month pre-action notice to the Clerk of the National Assembly, as stipulated in Section 21 of the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act, 2017. Furthermore, it noted that the governors did not obtain the necessary authorisation from their respective State Houses of Assembly, a requirement under the Supreme Court (Original Jurisdiction) Act, 2002.

The legislature maintained that none of the alleged threats to state officials, referenced in the suit, originated from it or its officers. It also argued that the governors were attempting to dictate how it exercises its constitutional duties, including the use of voice votes to approve emergency declarations under Section 305 of the Constitution.

In an affidavit deposed by Godswill Onyegbu, a legal officer in the National Assembly’s Directorate of Legal Services, the second defendant insisted that the plaintiffs lacked locus standi, had no legal grievance against NASS, and failed to demonstrate any unique harm suffered. The affidavit emphasized that no cause of action exists between the parties and that the Supreme Court lacks jurisdiction to entertain the case against the National Assembly as constituted.

The National Assembly has asked the court to strike out the suit and award a cost of N1 billion against the plaintiffs, arguing that the case is speculative, unfounded, and a waste of judicial resources.