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Samuel Ortom | Zikoko!
  • What We’ll Miss About These Outgoing Nigerian Governors

    What We’ll Miss About These Outgoing Nigerian Governors

    It’s great that executive offices in Nigeria have constitutional term limits because we know our politicians would rather die there if we allowed them.

    On May 29, 2023, 17 Nigerian states will get brand new governors because their current ones can’t continue after serving two terms.

    What will anyone remember about them?

    Okezie Ikpeazu — Abia State

    17 Nigerian governors will leave office in 2023

    “Don’t rush me. I’ll leave with style.”

    We hope he finds some time to pay the workers he owes over one year’s salaries and benefits before he leaves office.

    Udom Gabriel Emmanuel — Akwa Ibom State

    17 Nigerian governors will leave office in 2023

    The tailor who delivered his suits definitely ate for eight years straight.

    Samuel Ortom — Benue State

    17 Nigerian governors will leave office in 2023

    He’ll finally have something else to do besides picking fights with Buhari every three market days.

    Ben Ayade — Cross River State

    We’ll miss his public tears and weird budget titles.

    Ifeanyi Okowa — Delta State

    This man could end up in Aso Rock Villa next May, so we prefer not to speak.

    Dave Umahi — Ebonyi State

    17 Nigerian governors will leave office in 2023

    After missing out on the presidential ticket this year, Umahi is one of at least eight current governors trying to become senators next year. The workers he failed to pay for over six months should have something to say about that.

    Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi — Enugu State

    17 Nigerian governors will leave office in 2023

    We don’t know what he did in eight years, but it’s provocative enough that he plans to continue in the Senate if he wins the election next year.

    Mohammed Badaru Abubakar — Jigawa State

    He’s known as “Baba Mai Calculator” for some reason and has won a ton of awards for being a decent governor, but if he was walking down the street, would you recognise this man?

    Nasir El-Rufai — Kaduna State

    17 Nigerian governors will leave office in 2023

    His retirement plan is unclear, but we hope he has one that keeps him far away from posting his wild takes on Twitter.

    Umar Ganduje — Kano State

    17 Nigerian governors will leave office in 2023

    Remember how your school teachers said actions have consequences, but this man won a second term despite a clear-cut bribery scandal? Your teachers lied.

    Aminu Bello Masari — Katsina State

    He’s the governor of Buhari’s home state and loves negotiating with bandits even when they keep fooling him. We hope he doesn’t plan to be in any advisory role in the future.

    Abubakar Atiku Bagudu — Kebbi State

    17 Nigerian governors will leave office in 2023

    We’ll always remember him as the man who helped General Sani Abacha steal billions of our money and got away with it. Who said crime doesn’t pay?

    Abubakar Sani Bello — Niger State

    Bello doesn’t understand the concept of a break. He’s one of our group of eight outgoing governors trying to retire to the Senate in 2023.

    Simon Lalong — Plateau State

    Lalong is also on a quest to keep sucking on Nigeria’s titties treasury with a run for the Senate, so we’ll probably be seeing him around when he leaves the Plateau State Government House.

    Nyesom Wike — Rivers State

    17 Nigerian governors will leave office in 2023

    The entertainment value he’s provided in 2022 alone, especially with his music band, makes Wike a great loss to the public service. But it’s also impossible to forget some of his unhinged dictatorial actions, so goodbye to that man.

    Aminu Tambuwal — Sokoto State

    17 Nigerian governors will leave office in 2023

    Tambuwal can finally find time to focus on his ambition to become Nigeria’s president after failing two times. Buhari tried four times before he got the seat and Atiku Abubakar is on his sixth campaign. Never give up, T.

    Darius Ishaku — Taraba State

    17 Nigerian governors will leave office in 2023

    Another outgoing governor trying to jump into the Senate next year. How boring. How predictable.

    ALSO READ: The Class of 2015 Governors Who Want to Retire As Senators

  • 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