The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has strongly criticised the Supreme Court over its recent judgment affirming the President’s power to suspend elected governors and state legislatures during a state of emergency, warning that the ruling poses a grave threat to Nigeria’s federal system and democratic order.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party described the decision as a dangerous precedent that concentrates excessive powers in the Presidency and risks turning Nigeria into what it termed a “constitutional tyranny.”
According to the ADC, although the ruling appears academic on the surface, it represents a significant turning point that could fundamentally alter Nigeria’s democratic architecture.
The party noted that the apex court held that the President has the discretion to determine “extraordinary measures” required to restore peace and security once a state of emergency is declared. The ADC argued that this interpretation effectively grants the President unchecked authority to suspend elected state officials based on subjective assessments of security conditions.
“The obvious implication,” the party said, “is that a President or his agents could easily contrive a security situation in any state whose governor is deemed unfriendly and proceed to suspend both the governor and the State House of Assembly.”
While acknowledging that the Supreme Court also stated that no arm or tier of government is constitutionally superior to another, the ADC insisted that the practical effect of the ruling contradicts this principle and places state governments firmly under presidential control.
The party further expressed concern over what it described as weak safeguards against abuse of executive power. It questioned the effectiveness of proportionality, legislative oversight, and judicial review as checks on presidential discretion.
“With a President willing to do anything to retain power, proportionality becomes meaningless,” the ADC alleged, adding that legislative oversight is unlikely given what it described as the President’s dominance over the National Assembly.
On judicial review, the party argued that the judgment itself demonstrates the limits of relying on the courts to restrain executive excesses, accusing the Supreme Court of prioritising the letter of the law over its democratic spirit.
The ADC warned that constitutional tyranny often does not emerge through military coups, but through the gradual erosion of democratic norms and institutions.
“What has now become painfully clear,” the statement concluded, “is that neither the legislature nor the judiciary can be relied upon to halt this dangerous descent.”
