Politics

PDP reacts to Supreme Court’s Emergency Rule judgement

PDP, in its reaction, describe the judgement as “a dangerous democratic bend,” saying , “While we respect the authority of the apex court and recognise its finality within our jurisdiction…

Published

7 months ago

December 15, 2025

OCHEFA

471 Views

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has reacted to the apex court’s judgement today which upheld that the President has the constitutional power to impose a state of emergency, in this case Rivers State.

PDP, in its reaction, describe the judgement as “a dangerous democratic bend,” saying , “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.”

In a statement signed by Comrade Ini Ememobong, National Publicity Secretary of the party, noted :

” Earlier today, a full panel of the Supreme Court finally delivered a split judgment (six to one) in the suit filed by the Attorney-General of Adamawa State and others against the Attorney-General of the Federation and the National Assembly.

The suit marked SC/CV/329/2025, challenged the powers of the President to suspend democratically elected officials like the Governor and Deputy Governor, and democratic institutions such as the Rivers State House of Assembly.

The Apex Court struck out the suit based on an absence of a cause of action but, went on to comment on the issues raised in the suit therein.

Their comments have been largely interpreted as upholding President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State earlier this year.

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.

More troubling is the fact that the logical extension of this reasoning based on the provision of Section 305(3)(c) “extraordinary measures to restore peace and security” could, in the future, 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.

As a political party wholly committed to the protection and consolidation of democracy in Nigeria, we hereby call on the National Assembly to urgently initiate constitutional and legislative safeguards that clearly define and limit the scope of emergency powers of the president, to prevent imminent abuse and preserve Nigeria’s federation.

We also urge Nigerians, civil society organisations, the media, and the international democratic community to remain vigilant in the defence of constitutionalism, federalism, and the sanctity of the electoral mandate.

We remain hopeful that, at the next opportunity, the Supreme Court will have cause to extensively clarify the constitutional boundaries of emergency powers, in the overriding interest of justice, democracy, and the long-term stability of our Republic.”

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Politics

INEC to test- run election technology for 2027 polls

The INEC chairman said that the initiatives were part of broader efforts to improve technological reliability, including the continued deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), as well as an ongoing review of the Commission’s cybersecurity architecture covering system redundancy.

Published

6 days ago

July 17, 2026

OCHEFA

67 Views

INEC Chairman, Prof Joash Amupitan has said that the Commission was considering a full audit of its electoral systems and a mock presidential election to test the readiness of its processes and technology ahead of the 2027 polls.

Amupitan disclosed this on Thursday while receiving the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Dr Richard Montgomery, during a courtesy visit to the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja.

Amupitan said that the proposals, which were under consideration by the Commission, were informed by concerns arising from the 2023 general election, particularly over the reliability of election technology.

According to him, although the proposed exercises were not included in INEC’s budget, the Commission would explore ways to implement them because of their potential to enhance the credibility of the elections.

Politics

Appeal Court restores INEC’s timetable for 2027 elections

The three Justices unanimously agreed that Justice Mohammed Garba Umar of the Federal High Court, who on May 20 nullified the guidelines on the ground that they violated some provisions of the Electoral Act, did so in gross error and occasioned a miscarriage of justice.‎‎

Published

6 days ago

July 16, 2026

OCHEFA

67 Views

‎‎The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Thursday validated the guidelines issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the conduct of the 2027 general elections.

‎‎In a unanimous judgment delivered by the justices , the appellate court voided and set aside the May 20 judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which had nullified the guidelines and barred their implementation.

‎‎In the lead judgment, prepared by Justice Adebukola Banjoko and read by Justice Okon Abang, the Court of Appeal held that the Youth Party (YP), which instituted the case against INEC, lacked the legal standing (locus standi) to do so.‎‎

Justice Banjoko stated that the party did not explain how the guidelines affected it and its members in the conduct of its primary elections for the nomination of candidates for the 2027 polls.‎‎

The Court also held that the YP failed to establish how the guidelines affected the submission of its nominated candidates to INEC.‎‎

INEC, which filed the appeal against the High Court decision, had argued that the lower court erred in law when it failed to pronounce on the jurisdictional issue of the suit being hypothetical and academic, and a denial of fair hearing to the appellant.

‎‎INEC, through its lead counsel, Alex Izinyon SAN, had asked the Court of Appeal to set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court which nullified part of the election guidelines put in place by the agency for the conduct of the 2027 general elections.‎‎

The lawyer said the lower court erred in law when it held:

“It is clear from the wording of Sections 29(1), 82, and 84 of the Electoral Act, 2026, the following can be understood. Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026 mandates political parties to submit the names of candidates first in the prescribed forms of the candidates who emerged from its valid primaries, which such political party intends to sponsor at the elections, not later than 120 days before the date of the General election.‎‎

“What is required of political parties to do under the Electoral Act, 2026 is to notify the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) 21 days before the holding of its primaries, congresses, or conventions, conference, or meeting convened for the election of its executive committees, other governing bodies, or nominating candidates.‎‎

“The defendant is not mandated to impose a timeframe for political parties to conduct their primaries, provided that it will be done and submitted not later than the 120 days provided by the Electoral Act, 2026. See Section 82(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026.”

Politics

ADC cheerful over successful upload on INEC portal

Hon Nafiu Bala Gombe, National Chairman, ADC confirmed the development on Monday .

Published

1 week ago

July 13, 2026

OCHEFA

119 Views

The African Democratic Congress, ADC, has successfully completed the upload of its Presidential, Vice-Presidential, and National Assembly candidates on the INEC portal for the 2027 General Elections.

Hon Nafiu Bala Gombe, National Chairman, ADC confirmed the development on Monday .

“This achievement demonstrates our Party’s firm commitment to safeguarding the interests of our founding and legacy members in the face of anti-democratic tendencies.

As a Party, the ADC remains resolute in its mission to field credible, competent, and people-centered candidates who will provide purposeful leadership, promote good governance, and bring hope to the Nigerian people.”