28 serving, ex-govs jostle for Senate seats

From Fred Itua, Abuja

The number of former governors that would be elected into the Senate next year may double as 28 serving and former state executives jostle for seats.

There are about 15 former governors in the upper legislative chamber. There are also former deputy governors who have constantly populated the chamber since 2007.

In the current Senate, Abia State has the highest number of former governors. Until recently, it was closely followed by Nasarawa State.

According to findings by Daily Sun, the 28 serving and former governors cuts across the six geopolitical zones.They also cut predominantly across the two major political parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

They are Adams Oshiomhole from Edo State, Aliyu Wammako from Sokoto State, Abdul’aziz Abubakar Yari from Zamfara State, Kabiru Gaya from Kano and Abubakar Atiku Bagudu from Kebbi State. Others are Chimaroke Nnamani from Enugu State, Umaru Tanko Al-makura from Nasarawa State, Danjuma Goje from Gombe State, Simon Lalong from Plateau State and Orji Uzor Kalu from Abia State.

Also, Gbenga Daniel from Ogun State, Sani Bello from Niger State, Kashim Shettima from Borno State, Samuel Ortom from Benue State, Ifeanyi Ugwuayi from Enugu State, Dairus Ishaku from Taraba State, Ibrahim Gaidam from Yobe State and Seriake Dickson from Bayelsa State, are in the race.

The remaining are Okezie Ikpeazu from Abia State, Saminu Turaki from Jigawa State, Gabriel Suswan from Benue State, Ibrahim Shekarau from Kano State, Dave Umahi from Ebonyi State, Adamu Aliero from Kebbi State, Aminu Tambuwal from Sokoto State, Sam Egwu from Ebonyi State and Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo from Gombe State.

In the meantime, the rank of APC in the Senate has depleted since the conduct of the primaries. Last week, Senate Leader from Kebbi State, Yahaya Abdullahi, resigned his membership of the APC and defected to PDP. His counterpart from the state, Adamu Aliero, also dumped the party for PDP.

At plenary last Tuesday, Isa Kaita (Katsina North); Lawal Gumau (Bauchi South) and Francis Alimikhena (Edo North) defected.

They cited internal crises within the local chapters of their party as reasons for their actions, in their separate letters read by the Senate president.

While Kaita and Alimikhena defected to PDP, Gumau defected to the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).

Kaita said his resignation from the APC was borne out of the marginalisation of critical stakeholders by the state government and leadership of the party in Katsina State, “where small people like me do not have a chance.”

Alimikhena explained that his decision to resign was as a result of “continuing and multifaceted crisis that has bedevilled the APC in his senatorial district. This has created parallel executives that has undermined internal discipline, cohesion and focus.”