The office of the Attorney General of the Federation (OAGF) and the Federal Government may not yet have been served summons on the suit filed by 11 governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challenging President Bola Tinubu?s suspension of Rivers State Governor, Siminilayi Fubara, according to indications yesterday.

Also being challenged by the PDP governors is the President?s declaration of a state of emergency rule in Rivers.

The AGF and the FG are listed as defendants in the suit. However, sources at the OAGF told The Nation yesterday that the summons were yet to be received by the supposed defendants.

This, sources said, had not enabled the defendants to respond to the issues raised in the suit.

Vice-Admiral Ibok Ibas (rtd), the Sole Administrator appointed by President Tinubu to run the state?s affairs in the absence of Fubara, yesterday explained that his decision to appoint administrators for the 23 local government areas in the state came from his findings when he visited some of the councils.

Also yesterday, hundreds of women in the state took to the streets of Port Harcourt, the state capital, demanding a reversal of the emergency rule in the state.

The aggrieved women marched along the popular Aba Road from Isaac Boro Park to Garrison Junction, displaying placards and chanting solidarity songs.

A senior official in the office of the AGF said of the PDP governors? suit: ?We have read about the suit in the media.

?You in the media are the one telling us that a suit has been filed by some PDP controlled states against the emergency rule declared in Rivers State.

?For now, I can confirm to you that the office of the AGF has not been served. I believe it is this office that will also be served with processes intended for the Federal Government or the President.

?We are waiting. This is our office. If indeed any suit has been filed, we will respond accordingly once we are served as required.?

In the suit, marked SC/CV/329/2025, the Attorneys- General of Adamawa, Enugu, Osun, Oyo, Bauchi, Akwa Ibom, Plateau, Delta, Taraba, Zamfara, and Bayelsa states are asking the Supreme Court to determine if the President has power to suspend a democratically elected structure of a state.

They also want the apex court to determine if the way and manner the President pronounced the state of emergency declaration in Rivers State was not in contravention of the 1999 Constitution.

Specifically, the plaintiffs are praying the court to determine the following: ?Whether upon a proper construction and interpretation of the provisions of Sections 1(2), 5(2), 176, 180, 188 and 305 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria can lawfully suspend or in any manner whatsoever interfere with the offices of a Governor and the Deputy Governor of any of the component 36 States of the Federation of Nigeria and replace same with his own unelected nominee as a Sole Administrator, under the guise of, or pursuant to, a Proclamation of a State of Emergency in any of the State of the Federation, particularly in any of the Plaintiffs States?

?Whether upon a proper construction and interpretation of the provisions of Sections 1(2), 4(6), 11(4) & (5), 90, 105 and 305 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria can lawfully suspend the House of Assembly of any of the component 36 States of the Federation of Nigeria, under the guise of, or pursuant to, a Proclamation of a State of Emergency in any of such States, particularly in any of the Plaintiffs States?

?Whether the consequent threat by the first Defendant acting on behalf of the President to the States of the Federation, including the Plaintiffs? States, to the effect that the offices of the Governor and Deputy Governor of the States can be suspended by the President by virtue of a Proclamation of a State of Emergency, is not in contravention of the provisions of Sections 1(2), 4(6), 5(2), 11(2) and (3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 and inconsistent with the principles of constitutional federalism??

Why I appointed LGA administrators, by Ibas

Vice-Admiral Ibas at a meeting yesterday with the 23 local government administrators in Port Harcourt said that he realised that he needed people to help him at the grassroots to enable him actualise the mandate given him by President Tinubu.

He advised the LG administrators to work within the principles of accountability, transparency and sense of service to help them build trust and promote sustainable development.

Ibas told them to focus on issues of sanitation, environmental management, primary healthcare, welfare and discipline of local government civil servants, primary education, and youth engagement.

He said such areas would form the basis of assessing their performances in the coming weeks.

He said: ?Since resuming this assignment, I have taken time to visit a few local government areas.

?Those visits have afforded me the opportunity to interact with local government civil servants, and it was clear that I needed help with administering the entire state after the emergency proclamation areas which I am responsible for following from Mr. President?s proclamation.

And So, I went about trying to identify few individuals from which in the 7th April 2025, I selected those seated here today as administrators of the 23 Local Government Areas.

?I expect you all to recognise this moment in history and rise to the occasion as impartial leaders that will help me deliver on the mandate given to me by Mr. President to restore peace and stability and work towards returning all democratic institutions in the state.

?Your selection to the important office is not by chance but a recognition of your capacity to lead, your commitment to service and the trust reposed in you to bring governance closer to the people.

?Therefore, you bear the sacred responsibility, a duty to ensure that affairs of your respect councils are managed with the utmost care, respect, and unwavering dedication to the welfare of our people.?

His administration, he said, would not tolerate any form of recklessness, abuse office or misuse of public funds or trust.

He declared that resources allocated to the LGs must be used strictly for the purposes intended. (The Nation)

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