What a State of Emergency Means in Nigeria
The Constitution sets out when a President may declare an emergency. It says nothing at all about suspending a governor — which is where the argument starts.
A state of emergency is the most severe constitutional instrument available to a Nigerian President short of war. Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution governs it.
The grounds
The President may issue a proclamation of a state of emergency where:
- the Federation is at war;
- the Federation is in imminent danger of invasion or involvement in a state of war;
- there is an actual breakdown of public order and public safety in the Federation or any part of it, requiring extraordinary measures;
- there is a clear and present danger of such a breakdown;
- there is a disaster or natural calamity;
- there is any other public danger constituting a threat to the existence of the Federation; or
- the Governor of a State requests it.
Under that last ground, a governor may request a declaration limited to his own state — but only with a two-thirds resolution of that State House of Assembly.
The procedure
- The President issues a proclamation published in the Official Gazette.
- Copies go immediately to the Senate President and the Speaker, who convene their chambers.
- The National Assembly must approve by a two-thirds majority of all the members of each House — not two-thirds of those present, but of the full membership.
- The approval deadline is two days if the National Assembly is in session, ten days if not.
How long it lasts
A proclamation lapses after six months unless earlier revoked by the President, or extended by further resolutions of the National Assembly for successive six-month periods. Each House may also terminate it at any time by simple-majority resolution.
The Rivers State emergency, 2025
The most recent instance, and the most legally contested.
On 18 March 2025, President Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State, citing political paralysis between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and a 27-member faction of the State House of Assembly.
The proclamation suspended the Governor, Deputy Governor Ngozi Nma Odu, and all members of the State House of Assembly for six months, and appointed a Sole Administrator.
The National Assembly approved it on 20 March 2025 by voice vote in both chambers. The Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre recorded that the House Speaker approved the request without a counted vote, claiming 243 members present, with no evidence that the constitutional two-thirds — 240 of 360 — had been demonstrated. Senator Aminu Tambuwal argued publicly that the Senate also lacked the required two-thirds.
The emergency ended on 17 September 2025, when the President lifted it. Fubara, Odu and Speaker Martins Amaewhule resumed on 18 September 2025. It ran its full six months and was not extended.
The constitutional question it raised
Section 305 says nothing about suspending elected officials.
It empowers the President to proclaim an emergency and provides for extraordinary measures. It does not, on its face, authorise the removal or suspension of a governor, a deputy governor or a state legislature — all of whom hold office under separate constitutional provisions with their own removal procedures, principally impeachment by the State House of Assembly.
This was argued widely by the Nigerian Bar Association and constitutional lawyers at the time. The counter-argument is that "extraordinary measures" must mean something, and that a total breakdown between a state executive and legislature cannot be resolved by the ordinary machinery.
The question was never settled judicially. The emergency expired before any definitive ruling, which leaves the precedent standing without having been tested.
The procedural question — whether a voice vote can establish a two-thirds majority of all members — is arguably the more serious one, because it goes to whether the National Assembly's approval was validly given at all.
Earlier instances
Emergencies were declared in Plateau State in 2004, Ekiti State in 2006, and Borno, Yobe and Adamawa in 2013. In the 2013 declaration, governors and assemblies were not suspended, which is a meaningful contrast with 2025. We have not source-verified these earlier instances to the standard applied elsewhere in this article; treat the detail as indicative.
Frequently asked questions
Can a governor request an emergency in his own state? Yes, under section 305(3)(g), with a two-thirds resolution of his State House of Assembly.
How long can it last? Six months, renewable by resolution of the National Assembly for further six-month periods.
Can a governor be suspended under a state of emergency? It has been done. Whether section 305 authorises it has not been determined by a court.