Since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu unconstitutionally proclaimed a state of emergency in March, the anomaly it creates is increasingly manifesting. The dangerous irony of appointing a soldier—Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retired or not)—is beginning to show.
The Sole Administrator has reportedly announced the dissolution of local government administration in the state. He is also said to have suspended several boards and commissions in Rivers State, including the State’s Electoral Commission, which he has reconstituted. Additionally, the Sole Administrator is reported to have prepared a budget, which he intends to implement—without passage by the State House of Assembly, which was also suspended by President Bola Tinubu.
The actions of the Administrator raise constitutional questions. Among them: Does the Sole Administrator have the powers to prepare a budget or receive federal revenue allocations? Can he legally spend state funds?
It has been argued clearly and repeatedly that Section 305 does not confer on the President the power to suspend either the State House of Assembly or the Governor, as he has done. The Constitution lays down strict conditions under which a State House of Assembly may be suspended. These are found in Section 11(4) of the Constitution. Section 11 only permits the National Assembly to assume the legislative functions of a State House of Assembly when that Assembly is unable to perform its duties. Even then, the Constitution stipulates that these powers of the National Assembly are temporary and must lapse—or be reversed—when conditions normalize. It is therefore clear that the section of the Constitution relied upon by the President—Section 305—does not provide for the appointment of a Sole Administrator, such as Ibas.
Observers are increasingly worried about the growing list of constitutional breaches in Rivers, and the implications this may have for Nigeria’s democracy. Meanwhile, it remains unclear how—or when—these constitutional abnormalities and flagrant violations of the country’s grundnorm will be resolved.
What is clear, however, is the serious stain that the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State has placed on the Tinubu administration—and on its democratic credentials.