ADC knocks Supreme Court ruling on emergency powers

The African Democratic Congress (ADC), on Tuesday, faulted a recent Supreme Court judgment affirming the President’s authority to suspend elected governors and state assemblies during a state of emergency, warning that it poses a grave threat to Nigeria’s federalism and democracy.

In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said the ruling, though described as academic, concentrates excessive powers in the Presidency and could be exploited to undermine democratic governance.

According to the ADC, the apex court’s position that the President has the “discretion to determine the measures required to restore peace and security” after declaring a state of emergency effectively grants him latitude to take “extraordinary measures” based solely on his judgment.

The party warned that such discretion could be abused to contrive security situations in states governed by political opponents, leading to the suspension of elected governors and state Houses of Assembly.

While noting that the Supreme Court also stated that no tier of government is constitutionally superior to another, the ADC argued that the practical effect of the judgment contradicts this principle by placing state governments under the firm control of the Presidency.

“The implication of this ruling is a serious erosion of Nigeria’s federal structure and a direct threat to democratic norms,” the party said.

The ADC further expressed doubts about the safeguards identified by the court, including proportionality, legislative oversight and judicial review, arguing that they are ineffective in the current political environment.

It alleged that legislative oversight has been weakened by what it described as the subservience of the National Assembly to the executive, while judicial review, in its view, has been reduced to strict legalism at the expense of democratic intent.

The party warned that constitutional tyranny often emerges gradually through the erosion of democratic institutions rather than through military coups, urging Nigerians to remain vigilant.