Prominent lawyer and human rights activist Liborous Oshoma has questioned the legality of removing a sitting governor under a state of emergency, recalling that when President Bola Tinubu was in opposition, his party—then known as the ACN and later the APC—held the same position. He argued that the constitution does not grant the president the power to unseat an elected governor, even under emergency rule.
He stated that while a state of emergency allows the federal government to take control of security and impose movement restrictions in certain cases, it does not authorize the removal of a governor or the dissolution of the state House of Assembly. He emphasized that constitutional provisions must be upheld, regardless of political interests.
He said in an interview with Channels TV, “When the president was in opposition and a state of emergency was declared, let us cast our minds back to the position of the APC and their former identity as the ACN. Their position was that when a state of emergency is declared, the president has no power to remove a sitting governor from office.
There is nothing in the constitution that requires a sitting governor to vacate his office. A state of emergency can be declared for the federal government to take charge of security situations, and then movement in certain cases is restricted. But there is nothing in the constitution that says a sitting governor or the state House of Assembly can be removed.