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Emergency rule: S’Court has given President power to pocket states
The Supreme Court’s endorsement of the state of emergency in Rivers State, has effectively handed President Bola Tinubu the weapon, not only to act God, but to put the states in his pocket, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), lamented on Monday.
Reacting, hours after the apex court threw out its case challenging the President’s imposition of emergency rule in the state for six, which lasted from March to September, the party, which conveyed its position through Ini Ememobong, its spokesperson, said the verdict indicated a dangerous democratic bend with far-reaching implications for federalism and constitutional governance.
PDP said in a statement: “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.
“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.
“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 National Assembly must urgently initiate constitutional and legislative safeguards to clearly define and limit the scope of the president’s emergency powers, to prevent imminent abuse and preserve Nigeria’s federation.”
Oil prices are expected to go down now with the announcement of Donald Trump, US President that he will no longer impose a 20 percent “safe passage” fee on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The POTUS, hinged his reversal of the decision on the intervention from some Gulf countries, who pleaded with him not to toe the line due to the massive economic impact the decision would make on the region.
Indeed, oil prices had shot up immediately Trump announced the new levy on Monday while declaring the US ‘the guardians of the Hormuz strait,’ a measure which he said was to pay for the cost of guarding the volatile area in order keep supply of oil flowing.
Reports said that Gulf allies of the US worked frantically to get Trump on the phone in time to talk him out of the idea altogether, while a flurry of appeals came from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar.
In response, the POTUS, posting on his Truth Social platform, wrote: “Based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership, I have decided to replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States.”
Trump, who said the investments would be “MASSIVE but, at the same time, extraordinarily good for them, and their future,” added that the deals would see factories, plants, and equipment pour into the US at “Historic levels.”
The Gulf nations have committed to invest trillions of dollars in the US, though it remains unclear how much of that they will actually spend over the next several years.
Meanwhile, the US continues to bomb Iran in what appears to be a resumption of active conflict between both countries, despite an ongoing roadmap to end the conflict.
Reports say operatives of the Osun State Police Command, and those of the Department of State Services (DSS) had tracking the trail of Adeniyi Adeyemi, controversial Director General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), for weeks, before he was eventually pulled out of his hole on Tuesday.
However, the duo, were said to have pulled back after failing to track him through his mobile phones, which he had reportedly switched off for about two days, making it difficult to locate him, leaving the stage for the members of the Police Intelligence Response Team (PI-RT) led by Moses Lohor, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP).
Lohor, said to have previously served as the Commander of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of Osun State, and reported to have been involved in high-profile security operations and controversies, after taken over fielded his men to pick up signals from their well-oiled signal networks.
Regarded by many Osun residents as one of the key security officers who contributed significantly to the peace and stability enjoyed in Ilesa and other parts of the state during his tenure, he was said to have relied on his contacts before his transfer out of the state, said to have raised concerns from the public about the security situation he would be leaving behind.
His exit from the state was said to be hinged on an incident in 2024, in which he allegedly shot one Iyanda Alowonle, then Chairman of Osun State Motor Transport System, in the stomach at the police station in the state prompting an order for his arrest by then Inspector General of Police (IGP).
His effort was said to have paid off when he successfully tracked down the controversial PFIPC, boss, who was seen on Tuesday evening, in a shot video on social media undergoing interrogation, and eventually handed him over to Ibrahim Gotan, Commissioner of Police in the state.
The PUNCH quoted one of the sources as saying: “The arrest (of Adeyemi) took place on Tuesday morning by the IRT squad, who immediately moved him to Abuja. After he was arrested, he was taken to Ibadan and from there to Abuja.”
“Constructive partnership should never be mistaken for constitutional surrender. Parliament does not prove its independence by manufacturing conflict, nor its relevance by opposing for opposition’s sake,” were the words with which Godswill Akpabio, moved to shoot down a groundswell of allegations against the National Assembly as a lapdog to the Executive.
At the opening of the 2026 National Assembly Open Week in Abuja, Akpabio, Chairman of the National Assembly, insisted on collaboration as the basis of engagement, with checks and balances called when absolutely necessary and relevant.
He added: “Our constitutional duty is to support what advances the national interest, to question what requires scrutiny, and to correct what demands improvement. That is the balance we have sought to maintain, and history, I believe, will judge it fairly. The Senate and House of Representatives have worked with uncommon harmony and mutual respect over the past three years.
“Whether you are with us today, following these proceedings online, listening on radio, watching on television, or gathered beneath a mango tree in a village square, this parliament belongs to you.
“Come closer. Attend our public hearings. Read the laws we make. Question us. Challenge us. Encourage us. Democracy flourishes when citizens remain active participants in the work of self-government. The true measure of parliament is not the height of its walls, but the depth of its people’s confidence.”
Arguing that the assembly’s constitutional duty was to serve Nigerians rather than manufacture conflict with the executive, he maintained it would remain accessible to citizens rather than operate as a closed institution.
His words: “Throughout these responsibilities, the national assembly has worked constructively with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, in pursuit of national progress.”
Relating to the participation of Nigerians in the affairs of the legislature, he said, it would never build walls to keep Nigerians out, adding: “They were built to welcome them in — not merely as spectators of democracy, but as its rightful owners. Parliament belongs not to those elected to sit within it, but to the millions whose hopes and votes brought it into existence.
“Parliament was never built to keep the people out. It was built to bring them in, for democracy flourishes only in the confidence of an informed and engaged citizenry.
“Public confidence is earned not by asking citizens to trust institutions blindly, but by embracing transparency and accountability Parliament should never fear informed criticism. Questions strengthen democracy. Transparency strengthens legitimacy. The more Nigerians understand our work, the stronger our democracy becomes.
“We invite Nigerians not merely to observe us, but to engage with us; not merely to applaud where they agree, but to challenge us where they believe we can do better. A parliament that listens becomes wiser. A democracy that listens becomes stronger.”
Giving further details of the achievements of the 10th NASS, Akpabio, apart from commending it for passing more than 100 bills in its first three years, which he described as unprecedented at this stage of Nigeria’s democratic journey, also pointed to other feats.
They included the enactment of the laws to strengthen national security, return out-of-school children to classrooms, modernise the country’s tax system, approve a new national minimum wage, stimulate investment and establish regional development commissions.
Brushing aside the oft-challenged practice of benign approach in the screening and confirmation of public officeholders, Akpabio, former Governor of Akwa Ibom State and former Minister of the Niger Delta, said such tasks had always been met with the seriousness required by the constitution.
He also showcased how the assembly aided Nigeria to regain a seat on the executive committee of the Inter-Parliamentary Union after nearly six decades, describing the feat as a sign of renewed international confidence in the country’s democratic institutions.
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