As 2015 election draws closer, a number of senators have indicated interest to contest the
governorship position in their states. A survey
carried by Daily Independent has revealed that
some of these senators are either serving out their second term in the senate or are warming up to succeed governors that are completing their second term in office by May 29, 2015. Some of these senators, discussed below, have already openly expressed their intention.

No.1. Abaribe

Senator Harcourt Enyinnaya Abaribe, Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Information, is a second term Senator representing Abia South. He came into the limelight in 1999, when he was
elected Abia State deputy governor under the
administration of governor Orji Uzo Kalu. Abaribe’s political marriage with Kalu was short-lived, as a result of some undisclosed acrimony that existed
between the duo during his period as the deputy governor. He however enjoys tremendous support and sympathy from the political elite. Abaribe is a
grassroots politician, which makes him popular among the youths and women, who constitute the
bulk of voters in the state. He feels strongly that he
has what it takes to clinch the governorship seat of
Abia in the next political dispensation. His hopes
are anchored on two major factors: his experience
as deputy governor of the state, and the purported zoning of the governorship slot to candidates from
Abia South. Abaribe is an Ngwa man.

No. 2. Nwogu

Senator Nkechi Nwogu is a woman with a heart of
steel. She wants to make history as the first woman
to be elected governor. Nwogu, a second term
senator, represents Abia Central in the Senate. She
was a member of the House of Representatives.
Nwogu was the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking in the Sixth Senate. Now, she chairs the
Senate Committee on Gas. She also enjoys the same
privilege as Abaribe, being from Abia South, to
which PDP has zoned the governorship. Nwogu
has declared her desire to contest the Abia state
governorship position at different fora. She is ready to slug it out with about 11 aspirants gunning for
the same position.

Following

No.3 Solomon

Senator Ganiyu Solomon represents Lagos West
District in the Senate. He declared his ambition to vie
for the 2015 governorship election almost a year
ago. He is former Chairman of Mushin Council and
member of House of Representatives. In 2007,
former Lagos State governor, Bola Tinubu, opted out of the senatorial race and the ticket landed in
Solomon’s palm. His ambition has caused a stir.
Other aspirants who have not come out openly may
have been relating to him as the number one rival.
Solomon is not a baby politician in Lagos State. He
has the network. He is also rooted in the grassroots. Many perceive him as a political
mobiliser and a close associate of Asiwaju Tinubu.
It is not the first time Solomon will be eyeing the
governorship. In 2007, he was among the 14
Alliance for Democracy (AD) aspirants itching to
succeed Tinubu. His supporters have started canvassing for open primaries for the aspirants. In
2015, Solomon will slug it out with the House of
Assembly Speaker, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, Dr. Obafemi
Hamzat; Akin Akinbode, Leke Pitan; Femi
Gbajabiamila, and Senator Gbenga Ashafa, if they
join the race.

breaking news
on
Ebola and chibok

.

read
.
https://www.nairaland.com/1845888/breaking-news-leader-bokoharam-sect

No. 4. Lanlehin
Senator Olufemi Lanlehin, representing Oyo South in
the upper chamber is a lawyer and seasoned
politician. He reportedly inherited political skills
from his illustrious father, the late Pa. S.O. Lanlehin,
one of the pioneer members of the Western
Regional House of Assembly from Ibadan, and treasurer of the defunct Action Group (AG), led by
the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo. In the Third
Republic, he was a member of the House of
Representatives. Between 1999 and 2002, he was
Special Adviser on Political and Legislative Matters in
Lagos State. Until recently when the party leaders brokered peace between him and Governor Abiola
Ajimobi, the senator was a serious contender for
the governorship in Oyo APC. In 2011, he was an
aspirant to the governorship of Oyo state but was
prevailed upon by party leaders to step down for
Ajimobi, who was endorsed as the consensus candidate by the party. However, Lanlehin has not
renounced his governorship ambition. He just left
APC and joined Labour Party.

No. 4. Lanlehin

Senator Olufemi Lanlehin, representing Oyo South in
the upper chamber is a lawyer and seasoned
politician. He reportedly inherited political skills
from his illustrious father, the late Pa. S.O. Lanlehin,
one of the pioneer members of the Western
Regional House of Assembly from Ibadan, and treasurer of the defunct Action Group (AG), led by
the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo. In the Third
Republic, he was a member of the House of
Representatives. Between 1999 and 2002, he was
Special Adviser on Political and Legislative Matters in
Lagos State. Until recently when the party leaders brokered peace between him and Governor Abiola
Ajimobi, the senator was a serious contender for
the governorship in Oyo APC. In 2011, he was an
aspirant to the governorship of Oyo state but was
prevailed upon by party leaders to step down for
Ajimobi, who was endorsed as the consensus candidate by the party. However, Lanlehin has not
renounced his governorship ambition. He just left
APC and joined Labour Party.

Old useless thieves.

Senator Simeon Ajibola

No. 5. Nwagu

A senator from Ebonyi State, Paulinus Igwe Nwagu
is Chairman, Senate Committee on Police Affairs. He
made public his intention to contest the
governorship of the state under the platform of the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) next year. Addressing a press conference in Abuja, Senator
Nwagu said his ambition to govern Ebonyi State is
in furtherance of his “selfless service to humanity,”
adding that he wants to consolidate on the
achievements of Governor Martin Elechi. He is a
second term senator and was in the House of Representatives for eight years as deputy chairman,
House committee on Police Affairs.

No.6. Okowa

Senator Ifeanyi Okowa is from Delta North, a district
that is mainly populated by Anioma people. The
Anioma have been agitating for power shift
because they have not filled the slot before now.
Therefore, they are insisting that it is the turn of the
district to produce the next governor. Power shift, Okowa has explained, will give the people of
Anioma a sense of pride and belonging. Besides, he
said that power shift will foster equity and justice in
the state. If this sentiment gains the sympathy of
the other ethnic groups, then Okowa has prospects
as an aspirant. The senator is a former Secretary to the State Government. His constituents are
impressed by his performance in the upper
chamber, where he chairs the Senate Committee on
Health.

No. 7. Gaya

Senator Kabiru Ibrahim Gaya, a second term senator,
represents Kano South, and is the Deputy Minority
Whip in the sixth Senate. He was governor of Kano
State in the Third Republic, and is now staging a
comeback. He is a chieftain of the APC.

No. 8. Ningi

Senator Abdul Ningi, represents Bauchi Central in
the Senate. Before his elevation to the Senate, he
was the majority leader of the House of
Representatives and was in that chamber for eight
years. His brilliant contributions to House debates
won him the respect of his fellow legislators. As the Senate Deputy Majority Leader, Ningi is very close to
the Presidency and maintains a good working
relationship with the seat of power. The senator is
also in the good book of Governor Isa Yuguda.
However, zoning may affect his chances of
becoming the governor. The people of Bauchi North Senatorial District claim that it is their turn to
produce the governor of Bauchi state, but it would
seem that Ningi is not deterred from pursuing his
ambition. The last time that Bauchi North produced
the governor was in 1979 when the late Alhaji
Tatari Ali was elected on the platform of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN).

No. 9. Abe

Before the crisis in the Rivers State PDP escalated,
many members were rooting for Senator Magnus
Abe as the likely successor to Amaechi. The Senator
is from Ogoniland, a zone that has not produced
any governor. In fact, Amaechi is supporting power
shift to this zone to correct the imbalance in the power sharing. However, it has been alleged that
Mrs. Patience Jonathan, the wife of the President,
prefer her fellow Okrika man, Nyesom Wike,
Minister of State for Education, for the job. Abe’s choice was premised on his loyalty to the
governor. He remains an ally of the governor
during this turbulent period. But his ambition may
hit the rock because the governor does not have
control over the state PDP executive committee that
will conduct the primaries. Prior to his election into the Senate, Abe was a
member of the Rivers State House of Assembly,
Commissioner for Information and Secretary to the
Government. He is perceived as a man of integrity in
public life. In the Senate, he is Chairman, Senate
Committee on Petroleum (Downstream). He was the Chairman of the Senate Joint Committees that
probed the fuel subsidy scam.

No. 10. Eze

Senator Ayogu Eze represents Enugu North in the
Senate. Many believe he stands a better chance in
the Enugu governorship race because he hails from
Nsukka, which is favoured by the zoning. The last
governor from the zone was Dr. Okwesilieze
Nwodo, who ruled between 1992 and 1993. The zone accounts for 40 per cent of the voting
population, according to the last national census. Ayogu has never hidden his ambition to become
the governor of Enugu State, especially among his
fellow senators. Senate President, David Mark, refers
to him as the “Enugu Government House”
whenever he wants to gain his attention. Ayogu
was Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Information in the sixth Senate and currently
Chairman Senate Committee on Works. However,
the elite in the Nsukka axis perceive him as too
ambitious. He appears not have mended fences
with the Nwodo family who are his benefactors and
mentors.

No. 11. Ndoma-Ebga

Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN), Senate Majority
Leader and third term senator, was deputy majority
leader in the sixth Senate. He represents Cross
Rivers Central. Ndoma-Egba who came into the
senate in 2003 has not been forthcoming
regarding his ambition to contest the Cross Rivers State governorship next year. However, there has
been a sustained media campaign by his
supporters urging him to make public his desire to
succeed Governor Liyel Imoke.

No. 12. Ekweremadu

Senator Ike Ekweremadu is the Senate Deputy
President. He is a governorship aspirant in Enugu
State. He was tipped for the job in 2007, following
the expiration of Governor Chimaroke Nnamani’s
second term, but the political family, Ebano Group,
opposed his candidature. What makes observers to believe that Ekweremadu still nurses the ambition is
the array of projects he has commissioned in his
constituency. Many people have benefitted from his
Ikeoha Foundation. He has the financial muscle
required for the contest. He is also close to Aso
Rock. But it would seem that the zoning arrangement in the state has knocked him out of
the race. Ekweremadu is from Enugu West, like
Governor Chime. The governor has said that the
slot would be zoned to the North. This has not
deterred the senator whose campaign posters have
continued to adorn Enugu and Nsukka. The posters are pointers to brewing feud between him
and the governor. Though his aides have continued to dismiss
rumours of his intention, political observers do not
believe them.

What of Senator Simeon Ajibola of Kwara state....
Op do your research welll

all culled from
www.dailyindependentnig.com/2014/08/2015-senators-want-governors/

culled from
www.dailyindependentnig.com/2014/08/2015-senators-want-governors/

McWhillion: What of Senator Simeon Ajibola of Kwara state....
Op do your research welll

okay thanks for the observation

OP, I do not understand you o. How can Sen. Enyinnaya Abaribe, who is from Abia South enjoys the same privilege with Sen. Nkechi Nwogu who's from Abia Central?!

donphilopus: OP, I do not understand you o. How can Sen. Enyinnaya Abaribe, who is from Abia South enjoys the same privilege with Sen. Nkechi Nwogu who's from Abia Central?!

both of them are from old obioma ngwa lga,i have always been of the view that osisioma LGA should be in abia south and north abia central.

I don't have anything to say, that's their cup of tea. 3D and HD thieves combined

I don't have anything to say, that's their cup of tea. 3D and HD thieves combine stealing from the time of OBJ in Nigeria