Politics
2023: Eight Second Term Governors With Eyes On The Senate Revealed
As the clock ticks towards the 2023 elections, some governors who are completing their second terms next year have commenced moves to switch to the federal parliament, a place tagged as retirement home for state chief executives.
Since the beginning of the Fourth Republic, it has been a common practice among governors to retire to the National Assembly as senators after serving out their second term.
Governor Simon Bako Lalong of Plateau State is first among the second term governors to pick expression of interest and nomination forms to contest the Plateau South senatorial ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The senatorial seat is currently occupied by Nora Ladi Daduut, who was elected to the Red Chamber after the death of Ignatius Longjan.
Serving commissioners from Plateau State raised N60million to purchase the forms for Lalong, according to the chairman of the Commissioners Forum of Plateau State, Yakubu Datti .
As Governor Mohammed Badaru of Jigawa State rounds off his second and final term in office come May 29, 2023, his next political move has become the subject of discourse in the state’s political circle.
While the governor had kept the issue close to his chest, some of his loyalists had linked him to a possible race to the Senate.
The Tide source gathered that the governor’s decision to move to the Red Chamber of the National Assembly was taken during a high-level meeting which took place last week Friday shortly before the governor travelled to Saudi Arabia on lesser hajj.
Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State in early March, declared his interest to contest the Benue North West senatorial seat currently occupied by Senator Emmanuel Orker Jev.
Ortom said he made the move after a series of consultations with his kinsmen, telling them that he had finally been convinced that God had confirmed to him to contest the election.
Few weeks after his declaration, elders from the Masev, Ihyarev and Nongov Development Association (MINDA) in Benue State presented People’s Democratic Party (PDP’s) expression of interest and nomination forms for the Senate race to the governor.
There were reports weeks ago that Umahi had dropped his presidential ambition to contest the Ebonyi South Senatorial seat in the 2023 general elections.
But the governor dismissed claims through the state’s Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Uchenna Orji, who described the claims as falsehood peddled by political charlatans in a statement.
Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, who vacated the Delta North senatorial seat after one tenure in 2015 to become governor, is yet to publicly declare his intention to return to the Red Chamber after completing his second term in 2023, but feelers from the state indicate that the governor is planning to switch over to the parliament.
Earlier last month, the Delta governor had said his next political move would soon be made public after consultation with stakeholders.
Reacting to speculations that Okowa had procured the PDP nomination and expression of interest forms for senatorial election, his Commissioner for Information, Charles Aniagwu, said it was within his boss’s constitutional right to return to the Red Chamber.
The coast became cleared for Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi to move to the legislature in 2023 as the lawmaker representing his Enugu North senatorial district in the Red Chamber after Chukwuka Utazi, announced that he would not run for the senatorial seat.
Utazi, while addressing the delegates of the PDP from the senatorial district, said he decided not to contest to pave the way for the smooth emergence of Ugwuanyi as Enugu North senator in the 10th National Assembly.
“We will follow our brother and leader. We are going to be behind you, and pray that God would guide you to take this decision,” Utazi assured the governor, amid jubilation.
Governor Darius Ishaku has also commenced scheming to replace the senator representing his Taraba South senatorial district, Emmanuel Bwacha.
The frosty relationship between them forced Bwacha out of the PDP. The lawmaker said he left the party to escape the “apparent persecution” by his governor, whom he accused of being against his political progress.
Gov Aminu Tambuwal is a frontline presidential aspirant of the PDP. However, there are speculations in the state that his plan B is to contest the Sokoto South senatorial election in the event that he loses the party’s presidential primary.
There are insinuations that the governor had asked one of his commissioners, Aminu Bala Bodinga, to buy the PDP form for Sokoto South senatorial zone.
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election, Mr Peter Obi, on Tuesday lamented that Nigerians have been turned into refugees in their own country.
Mr Obi made the remarks during the presentation of the book titled “Obi, The Political Change Agent” in Abuja.
He said that Nigerians must rise and change the current political system, adding that the current structure does not care about the people.
The former Anambra State governor highlighted the sufferings faced by Nigerians, as he listed issues troubling the country to include insecurity, poverty, theft, and lack of accountability by public officials, among others.
He urged collective efforts to dismantle the proceeds of ill-gotten wealth, insisting that “any country where those in government are richer than business people is an unproductive country. A very simple definition of production is value.”
He said the current system is totally unproductive, adding that the country has raised “Nigerian masters” who have destroyed rail lines and other infrastructures built by the colonial masters.
Mr Obi further explained that to rebuild the country, Nigerians must make sacrifices, as he disclosed that the Obidient Movement would look for genuine people who are willing to fix the country at all levels.
His remarks may not be unconnected to the activities of some federal lawmakers originally elected on the platform of the LP and have been criticised for allegedly abandoning their core opposition functions.
Meanwhile, the 2023 LP flag- bearer, while calling for transparency in the upcoming 2027 poll, cautioned against attempts to truncate the process.
He stressed, “We will make the election count. And those who don’t want it to count, we’ll count them.”
Speaking earlier in a welcome remark, National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement, Dr Tanko Yunusa, stated that the momentum for the 2027 election had grown from a quest to change the old order of the negative Nigerian landscape to one of the biggest social/ideological movements in Africa and the world.
Dr Yunusa disclosed that the Obedient Movement is not a political organisation or an election regularisation scheme, but simply a movement that focuses on rejigging governance by pointing its direction to the people, and espousing the dividends of democracy for the people.
“Our beloved nation, Nigeria, stands at crossroads. The old ways have failed us, and the status quo is no longer tenable, yet, amidst the challenges, we find opportunities for growth, innovation, and progress.
“The Obidient Movement, led by our champion of change, Mr Peter Obi, embodies this spirit of transformation.
“The Obidient Movement is more than just a political phenomenon; it represents a shift in the narrative, a call to action, and a demand for a better future. It is a testament to the power of collective action, the resilience of the human spirit, and the unwavering desire for a brighter tomorrow.
“As we embark on this intellectual journey, we will explore the themes of resilience and the unyielding desire for a better Nigeria.
“We shall examine the role of leadership, the power of collective action, and the imperative of embracing a new vision for our nation’s future.
“We will discuss the challenges we faced, the opportunities we have, and the strategies we must employ to build a Nigeria that is just, equitable, and prosperous for all”, Dr Yunusa said.
The National Coordinator insisted that the inevitability of a new Nigeria is not just a dream but a necessity.
“We owe it to ourselves, our children, and future generations to ensure that our nation is a place where everyone can thrive, where everyone can live with dignity, and where everyone can reach their full potential.
“As we celebrate our principal, Mr. Peter Obi, it is pertinent that we bear in mind that this auspicious gathering today is far more than just the presentation of a book”, he added.
He said that the Movement could boast of 28 states with 7 outstanding states soon to be announced, with 540 LGAs out of 774, with 234 to be completed.
In her remarks, the Acting National Chairman of the LP, Senator Nenadi Usman, highlighted that in every generation, there arises a voice that does not merely echo the frustrations of the people but dares to chart a new path for them.
“Mr. Peter Obi, whose life and political saga we unveil today, has become such a voice. This book, meticulously authored and boldly titled tells a story far beyond politics. It is the story of accountability against impunity, simplicity against flamboyance, principle against expediency, and prudence against financial recklessness”, she said.
The factional chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Chief Tony Okocha, has warned that unless the suspended Governor of the State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, seeks genuine reconciliation, not even his defection to the APC will save him from impeachment.
Chief Okocha, who spoke at a media briefing at the national secretariat of the APC, Abuja, on Tuesday, warned again that not even the lifting of the emergency rule will stop the impeachment of the Governor, wondering why he had been lobbying for his reinstatement.
He also took a swipe at the former Governor of the State and ex-Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, describing him as a partyless politician since he is no longer a member of the APC.
Asked if suspended GovernorFubara joining the APC will make his sins to be forgiven, Chief Okocha thundered, “Fubara’s suspension and the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State had no business whatsoever with politics. It was about his misdemeanour, and I said to you that he said that the President saved his job by declaring the state of emergency.
“Don’t forget that the Supreme Court in its judgment had said that there was no government in Rivers State. So, if there was no government in the State, something must be done, and that which happened was the declaration of the state of emergency…
“If Fubara decides to join the APC, it has nothing to do with the state of emergency in Rivers State. His sins cannot be forgiven because he came to our party. It is not true”.
He has not spoken to me. He will enter the party through the door, not the window. Not only him, there are procedures for defection to another party, and if he claims to be a politician, he will know that all politics is local; he will try and defect in his ward”.
Former Minister of Youths and Sports Development, Mr Solomon Dalung, has described politicians moving from opposition parties into the ruling All Progressives Party (APC) as sinners seeking forgiveness.
Mr Dalung, who spoke in Abuja disagreed with the postulation that politicians were trooping into the APC because the ruling party has performed well, “rather they are sinners, who are seeking forgiveness for their numerous sins.”
Mr Dalung said the defectors were only fulfilling what a former Governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, said regarding corrupt politicians, that no matter the gravity of their sins, they would be forgiven as soon as they joined the APC.
Senator Oshiomhole has severally denied this quote attributed to him but politicians have continued to use it.
He said, “These are people who have committed heinous crimes against the Nigerian people and they are jumping into the APC ship for the forgiveness of their sins. Not that they believe in Tinubu, no; they do not. They are only assembling so that their sins will be forgiven.
“So it is a conclave of political cardinals who have committed grave sins against the Nigerian people and a political party has offered them the opportunity of forgiveness on entrance”.
The former Minister also warned that if care is not taken, the defectors would create problems in the ruling party in the future.
He said, “You know there is an adage in Hausa that if animals celebrate the death of a butcher, has the knife also died? If beneficiaries of the mandate of the people are defecting, have the people also defected?
“So there is no value added to Tinubu except that he has compounded the situation in his party and there will be an implosion.”
He also dismissed concern in certain quarters that the entrance of politicians like the former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai into the Social Democratic Party (SDP) could be a potential threat to the presidential ambition of Prince Adewole Adebayo, the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, adding that “Adebayo’s political charisma, image and personality within the Nigerian political environment has presented him as an obvious force to deal with in 2027.”
He emphasized that Prince Adebayo is the only presidential candidate who has consistently maintained a media campaign against the failed and unpopular policies of the current government.
“So, Nigerians are very conversant with Adebayo’s voice, charisma and leadership qualities. So, whether you mobilize the whole politicians into the SDP, you must resolve the question of Adebayo in the SDP as a presidential candidate before any other person.
“This is because nobody has promoted the SDP in Nigeria like Adebayo. After Chief MKO Abiola, you rank Adebayo in the contemporary SDP as the highest. So, the concern as some people are expressing is normal. Human beings entertain such fears but the reality is that the name SDP since 2023 has been sustained unilaterally by the doggedness, commitment, dedication and selflessness of Prince Adebayo.
“So, he is a force to beat in whatever political arrangement that the SDP will put on ground to produce a presidential candidate. He is a patriot who did not join politics for himself; he has surrendered the rest of his life to the service of humanity and he did that at his 50th birthday.”