Nigeria, March 19 -- President Bola Tinubu's recent declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, accompanied by the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and the entire State House of Assembly for six months, raises critical constitutional and legal concerns. While Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution empowers the President to declare a state of emergency under specific circumstances, it does not grant the authority to suspend elected state officials or dissolve legislative bodies. This action echoes past instances of executive overreach, rekindling debates on federalism, constitutionalism, and the rule of law in Nigeria.

The Nigerian Constitution was designed to uphold democratic governance by delineating the pow...