LEADING opposition parties, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the African Democratic Congress, ADC, yesterday, differed with the Attorney General of the Federation and Justice Minister, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, over Monday's Supreme Court judgment that the president has powers to declare emergency rule, and suspend elected governors and state officials.
While the AGF described the verdict as victory for democacry, the PDP and ADC countered that it could harm the nation's hard-won democracy by making state governments subservient to the Federal Government and turn governors into presidential appointees.
A seven-member panel of the apex court had in split decision of six-to-one, upheld the statutory powers of the president to declare emergency rule to restore order and normalcy in any state of the federation.
The court declined to fault the suspension of elected officials in states under emergency rule, though it stressed that suspension must be confined to a limited period.
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It's win for democracy--AGF
Reacting, Prince Fagbemi described as a win for Nigerians, the Supreme Court judgment that affirmed the power of the President to declare a state of emergency in any state in the country to avert the breakdown of law and order.
In a statement by his media aide, Mr. Kamarudeen Ogundele, the AGF said the judgment was a further consolidation to the country's fledging democracy, saying it "cleared whatever doubt anyone might have had.
"I welcome the judgement of the Supreme Court affirming the power granted the President by the constitution to declare a state of emergency in any state in Nigeria, whenever the situation arises.
"The landmark judgement has further strenghtened our jurisprudence and added another vital ingredients to consolidate our democracy."
Verdict risks turning govs into presidential appointees -- ADC
However, the ADC in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said: "Although the ruling appears innocuously academic, it represents a potential inflection point in our democratic development, one that may alter the nature of our democracy forever.
"The obvious implication of this position by the apex court is that the President of Nigeria, or his agents, could easily contrive a security situation in any state whose governor is deemed 'unfriendly' and proceed to suspend both the governor and the state House of Assembly.
"Although the same judgment notes that the Constitution provides that 'no arm or tier of government is constitutionally superior to another,' the clear effect of the ruling suggests the opposite."
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Could make states subservient to FG -- PDP
On its part, the PDP, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, said: "While we respect the authority of the apex court and recognise its finality within our jurisdiction, we are nevertheless compelled to draw attention to the grave dangers that can emanate from the interpretation of the reasoning in this judgment on the political landscape of our country.
"We submit that the interpretation of this judgment has the potential to reverse the hard-won democratic gains by unwittingly making state governments completely subservient to the Federal Government, forcing them to seek to 'connect to the centre' by joining the ruling party, as we are already witnessing.
"As a political party wholly committed to the protection and consolidation of democracy in Nigeria, we hereby call on the National Assembly to urgently initiate constitutional and legislative safeguards that clearly define and limit the scope of emergency powers of the president, to prevent imminent abuse and preserve Nigeria's federation."
We also urge Nigerians, civil society organisations, the media, and the international democratic community to remain vigilant in the defence of constitutionalism, federalism, and the sanctity of the electoral mandate."
