President Bola Tinubu has been sued at the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt over the contentious Rivers State local government elections held on August 30, 2025.
The suit, filed on September 11, 2025 (No. FHC/PH/CS/173/2025) by lawyer Clifford Nnanta Chuku, seeks to nullify the polls and declare unconstitutional the Emergency Powers Regulation issued by the President to guide the exercise.
Chuku contended that the regulation unlawfully suspended sections of the Electoral Act 2022 and Rivers State electoral laws, arguing that this violated the constitution and undermined democratic governance. He maintained that Tinubu’s suspension of parts of the law for the Rivers election amounted to executive overreach.
Listed as defendants in the suit are President Tinubu, the Federal Government, the Attorney General of the Federation, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC).
The court is expected to decide on whether the regulation unlawfully restricted the democratic rights of Rivers citizens and whether RSIEC’s notice for the elections complied with statutory timelines.
Chuku is asking the court to nullify the regulation, void the August 30 polls, and order RSIEC to conduct fresh elections strictly in line with the Electoral Act.
The matter has been fixed for hearing on October 21, 2025. Legal experts believe the outcome could set a precedent on the scope of presidential powers in electoral matters.
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