Rivers: El-Rufai cautions against unconstitutional removal of elected officials

Former Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, has reaffirmed that elected officials, including governors and legislators, cannot be removed from office through a declaration of a state of emergency.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, El-Rufai cited a 2006 Supreme Court judgment, which ruled that Section 305 of the Nigerian Constitution does not permit the removal of elected officials during an emergency.

“It is true that in those cases, the governors were suspended. These suspensions were challenged in court, and in 2006, the Supreme Court of Nigeria gave a judgment clearly stating that under no circumstances can the emergency provision in Section 305 be used to remove any elected official. That is the law,” El-Rufai stated.

He emphasized that unless a constitutional amendment or legislation explicitly changes this ruling, no authority whether federal or state has the power to remove a sitting governor outside due legal process.

The only lawful means of removing a governor, he stressed, is through impeachment by the state legislature.

El-Rufai’s remarks came amid speculations and debates surrounding the implications of a state of emergency on elected leadership.

His statement serves as a reminder that constitutional provisions must be upheld in handling political crises.

With no amendments altering the 2006 Supreme Court judgment, the former governor’s statement reinforces the legal precedent that remains binding in Nigeria’s democratic system.

SOCIETY WATCHING recalls that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday declared a state of emergency in Rivers.

The President also suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy for 6-months.