By Suleiman Anyalewechi
The Coalition of United Political Parties CUPP has berated Nigeria’s Supreme Court for deliberately refusing to entertain the application filed by the Peoples Democratic Party Governors Forum challenging the emergency rule declaration in Rivers State.
The body expressed serious concern that the Supreme Court has unashamedly offered itself as willing tool in the enthronement of authoritarianism and despotic rule in the country.
The CUPP’s condemnation of the Apex Court is coming against the backdrop of the lifting of the six-month old emergency rule slammed on Rivers state by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The Source reports that the President had, in a statement on Wednesday, lifted the emergency rule which he slammed on the State on March 18, 2025.
However, in a statement from its National Secretary, Peter Ameh, the CUPP accused the Supreme Court of being complicit in the orchestrated plot to undermine the country’s democratic process.
It will be recalled that the PDP Governors Forum had in the wake of the controversial emergency declaration , approached the Supreme court seeking a judicial clarification of the powers of the president to suspend democratically elected institutions, under the guise of emergency rule.
Curiously, the Supreme Court could not hear the suit before the lifting of the emergency rule, thus denying the country the opportunity of enriching its jurisprudence.
The CUPP said that the disposition of the Supreme Court is tantamount to weakening the credibility of the Judiciary ,as well as endangering Nigeria’s democratic foundation.
The CUPP expressed profound disappointment, with the conduct of the highest court in land, noting that such act of complicity amounts to prioritizing political interests over the rule of law.
This is as it called on all Nigerians, political parties, civil society organizations, and all well-meaning citizens, to reject, what it called a dangerous precedent, and a calculated attempt at undermining democracy and rule of law.
“The CUPP firmly believes that democracy thrives on the will of the people and the Independence of institutions, not through arbitrary suspensions or presidential proclamations.
“President Bola Tinubu’s invocation of a State of emergency on March, 18, 2025, citing a feud between Governor Similanayi Fubara and Minister Nyesom Wike alongside isolated incidents of pipeline vandalism, failed to meet the constitutional requirements under Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution.
“This action, executed without the request of elected state officials, undermined the mandate of Rivers state voters, and set a dangerous precedent for the erosion of state autonomy in Nigeria’s federation.
“We demand immediate transparency from the Presidency. The legal memo justifying this emergency, the financial costs incurred, and comprehensive review of the rights violated during this period must be published without delay.
“Nigerians deserve clarity to restore trust in our governance system”, the CUPP statement reads in part.
The CUPP further noted that much as the termination of the emergency rule is a welcome development, it nevertheless insisted that its declaration in the first place remains a gross act of Federal Government’s overreach, as well as a direct assault on Nigeria’s democratic principles.
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