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  • The Class of 2015 Governors Who Want to Retire As Senators

    The Class of 2015 Governors Who Want to Retire As Senators

    There’s something about being a public office holder in Nigeria that’s addictive. It’s why resignations are rare, and some people can spend 30 years trying to be president.

    But the constitution makes it impossible for politicians to last in certain posts forever. For example, a governor cannot serve more than two terms. You simply have to pack your load and leave for the next guy.

    But some Nigerian governors that have no intention of just retiring to a quiet life have always considered the Senate a consolatory retirement plan. It’s perfect because it’s the most prestigious legislative chamber and more importantly, you can remain in the seat as long as you can keep winning elections every four years. And you don’t even have to do much when you win.

    The Senate is already home to over a dozen former governors cashing checks, and there’s a new batch of about-to-become former governors who hope to join them by the time the 2023 general elections are over. Find them below:

    Aminu Tambuwal, 56

    Aminu Tambuwal wants to retire to the Senate

    Aminu Tambuwal has been the governor of Sokoto State since 2015. He was a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) when he won his first term in 2015, but moved to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) before he won re-election in 2019. With two consecutive terms about to be concluded, he contested for the PDP’s ticket for the 2023 presidential election but withdrew for the eventual winner, Atiku Abubakar. 

    Tambuwal later picked up the ticket to contest the Sokoto South senatorial district election in 2023. Unlike many others on this list, he’s not a stranger to the National Assembly. He was a member of the House of Representatives between 2003 and 2015 and even served as House Speaker between 2011 and 2015.

    Samuel Ortom, 61

    Samuel Ortom wants to retire to the Senate

    Like Tambuwal, Ortom won his first term as Benue State governor as a member of the APC and second term as a PDP member. Before 2015, he served as the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment. He’s now won the PDP’s ticket unchallenged to contest for the Benue North-West senatorial district seat in 2023.

    Dave Umahi, 58

    Dave Umahi wants to retire to the Senate

    Dave Umahi first entered the Ebonyi State Government House as a deputy governor in 2011 before he won the 2015 governorship election. He won re-election for a second term in 2019 and is now looking for a new challenge as his tenure nears its end. He first contested for the presidential ticket of the APC and finished in sixth place but he’s now APC’s candidate to contest in the Ebonyi South senatorial district election in 2023. 

    Okezie Ikpeazu, 57

    Okezie Ikpeazu is PDP’s candidate for the Abia South senatorial district election. Abia State’s last two governors — Orji Uzor Kalu and Theodore Orji — are current senators, so Ikpeazu is only following a familiar trend here.

    ALSO READ: An Abacha in Agbada Is Trying to Return to Power

    Darius Ishaku, 67

    Darius Ishaku wants to retire to the Senate

    Darius Ishaku was Nigeria’s Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs before he became Taraba State governor in 2015. He won’t be withdrawing to a private life when his second term expires in 2023 and has his sights on the Senate. The governor has already picked up the PDP’s ticket to contest in the Taraba South senatorial district election.

    Abubakar Sani Bello, 54

    Abubakar Sani Bello wants to retire to the Senate

    Abubakar Sani Bello is also not interested in taking a break when his eight-year reign as the governor of Niger State ends in 2023. He wants to represent Niger North senatorial district at the National Assembly if he wins the general election.

    Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, 58

    The governor of Enugu State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, is eyeing a homecoming to the National Assembly if he wins the Enugu North senatorial district election as a PDP candidate in 2023. Before he was elected governor in 2015, he’d served 12 years at the House of Representatives, representing Igboeze North/Udenu Federal Constituency of Enugu State between 2003 and 2015.

    Simon Lalong, 59

    Simon Lalong wants to retire to the Senate

    The governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, is yet another former lawmaker who became an executive governor and is hungry to make a return to lawmaking with a step up to the Senate. 

    Lalong is a former Speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly where he served two terms between 1999 and 2007. He now hopes to become the senator representing Plateau South senatorial district by winning the election next year as an APC candidate.

    ALSO READ: These Politicians’ Kids Are Taking Over from Their Parents

    Samson Toromade

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  • Can a Court Sack a Nigerian Governor for Being a Traitor?

    Can a Court Sack a Nigerian Governor for Being a Traitor?

    The feeling of being betrayed is not the best. It can be as basic as finding egusi inside an ice-cream bowl, or, if you’re a political party, getting served breakfast by an ungrateful politician that you helped to win public office.

    Can you sack a Nigerian governor for jumping around parties while in office?

    “Defecting” and “cross-carpeting” are terms that have become mainstays in Nigerian politics because politicians love to backstab their lovers parties. And as we all know, betrayal leaves the betrayed shocked, bitter and cold.

    This feeling of betrayal is one that the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) knows all too well. The party lost three state governors to the All Progressives Congress (APC) between November 2020 and June 2021. Dave Umahi of Ebonyi, Ben Ayade of Cross River and Bello Matawalle of Zamfara all jumped in bed with the APC.

    Can serving governors just do that?

    The short answer is yes.

    Can you sack a Nigerian governor for jumping around parties while in office?

    Section 68(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution is very clear that a federal lawmaker shall lose their seat if they move to a new party before the end of their tenure. That lawmaker can only keep their seat if the party they left was experiencing internal division or merged with another party. This constitutional instruction is usually ignored when lawmakers defect in Nigeria, but at least it’s there.

    However, the clear constitutional provision against betrayal does not affect governors. That’s why Umahi, Matawalle and Ayade can serve PDP breakfast with their full chests. 

    Who will stop them?

    When Umahi defected to the APC, we imagine PDP felt like this: 

    And on March 8th, 2022, Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, ordered Umahi to vacate his office. The PDP had argued before the court that votes that helped the governor win the office were cast for the party, not the candidate. This position is backed by many past court judgements.

    Justice Ekwo agreed and ruled that Umahi cannot carry PDP’s mandate over to the APC that lost the governorship election. Umahi refused the legal justification for his dismissal and appealed against the judgement.

    ALSO READ: Why APC’s Things Are Falling Apart

    Will he succeed?

    Can you sack a Nigerian governor for jumping around parties while in office?

    Umahi has based his defence on the fact that the case filed by the PDP is not a pre-election matter. A pre-election matter is one filed in court about how a candidate was elected as their party’s flagbearer. A governor can be removed by a court if it’s determined there was something illegal about how they were elected.

    However, the PDP’s betrayal case was filed after Umahi was already governor. He believes he should be protected by Section 308 of the constitution that grants him immunity from prosecution.

    With that established, the constitution outlines only three ways in which a governor can be removed from office — death, resignation or impeachment.

    Where will this end?

    Even Justice Ekwo admitted in his ruling that the constitution is not clear on what to do with a traitorous governor, but he applied the provision of Section 68 that only deals with lawmakers anyway. Many legal experts expect that his ruling on Umahi will not hold up at the Court of Appeal and/or Supreme Court because there’s no clear constitutional backing. For now, the Ebonyi governor remains in office.

    When a constitutional amendment bill was proposed on March 1st, 2022 for political office holders to lose their seats upon defection, National Assembly members rejected it. Until that part of the constitution is fixed, it appears governors will continue to serve their parties breakfast.

    ALSO READ: What National Assembly Got Wrong About Amending Constitution

    Samson Toromade

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