17 govs, ex-govs head for Senate

By Felix Nwaneri, Wale Elegbede and Temitope Ogunbanke



An unprecedented 17 outgoing and former governors have won senatorial seats in the ongoing general elections. They are among the 23, who contested last weekend’s National Assembly elections. The outgoing governors, who will seamlessly transit to the Senate, are six in number.



They are Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Rochas Okorocha (Imo), Ibrahim Gaidam (Yobe), Kashim Shettima (Borno), Abdulazeez Yari (Zamfara), Tanko Al Makura (Nasarawa).



Eleven former governors, who won the senatorial contests are, Orji Uzor Kalu (Abia), Sam Egwu (Ebonyi), Theodore Orji (Abia), Chimaraoke Nnamani (Enugu), Danjuma Goje (Gombe) and Adamu Aliero (Kebbi) Others are Kabiru Gaya (Kano), Ibrahim Shekarau (Kano), Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa), Gabriel Suswam (Benue) and Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto). Equally heading for the Senate are three serving and former deputy governors.



A former deputy governor of Abia State, Enyinnaya Ababribe, who won election for a fourth term would be joined the deputy governor of Jigawa State, Ibrahim Hadejia and ex-deputy governors of Akwa Ibom State, Chris Ekpenyong.



However, it was sour tale for two serving governors – Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo) and Ibrahim Dankwambo (Gombe). The duo had their bids dashed, following their defeat in the elections. Three former governors, incumbent Senators Bukola Saraki (Kwara) and Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom) lost their re-election bids, while ex-Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta) also lost his senatorial bid. The former deputy governors – Senator Biodun Olujimi (Ekiti) and Steve Lawani (Benue), and the incumbent deputy of Kaduna State, Barnabas Bantex, were defeated in the senatorial election.



Orji Uzor Kalu



The former two-term governor of Abia State (1999-2007) is heading to the Senate on his second attempt to represent Abia North Senatoral District. His first attempt was in 2015, on the platform of Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA), but he lost to Mao Ohuabunwa of the Peoples Demo- cratic Party (PDP).



The people of the zone, first voted on March 28, 2015, during the general elections, but the Court of Appeal sitting in Owerri, Imo State, nullified the declaration of Ohuabunwa as winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).



The invalidation was consequent of an appeal by Kalu against the judgement of the National Assembly Election Tribunal sitting in Umuahia, in which his petition against Ohuabunwa was dismissed. Kalu had approached the appellate court after the tribunal headed by Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo, on the ground that election was characterized by irregularities and intimidation of voters. Interestingly, the tribunal admitted that there were falsifications, alterations, inflation and deflation of figures in its ruling, but went ahead to strike out the petition on the ground that the former failed to prove his claims of irregularities and falsification of results by the PDP beyond reasonable doubt.



The judgement was however overturned by the Court of Appeal and as a result, Ohuabunwa’s election nullified. A fresh election was consequently ordered, but the same scenario on which the poll was nullified played, but INEC went ahead and declared Ohuabunwa winner. So, last weekend’s election was replay of the 2015 contest as both men squared against each other again. This time, Kalu,who ran on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), had his pound of flesh on Ohuabunwa.



The former governor polled 31,203 votes to defeat the incumbent senator and candidate of the PDP, who had 20,801 votes. The APGA candidate, Ogba Onuoha, came a distant third with 11,410. Kalu won in four of the five local government areas that make up Abia North, including Arochukwu, the PDP candidate’s home local government with 1,166 to PDP’s 843.



In Ohafia, Kalu polled 5,523 votes against PDP’s 4,861. In Isuikwuato, he polled 8,317 to PDP’s 4,609, while in Bende, his home local government, he had 10,701 to PDP’s 4,875. Ohuabunwa only won in Umunneochi Local Government Area by 5,613 against Kalu’s 5,496. This is not the first time Kalu, a man of many parts, whose rise to national and international limelight was quite meteoric, will be in the legislature.



As member of the House of Representatives between 1992 and 1993, he moved the famous Dual-Citizenship Rights Bill.



Sam Egwu



The former governor of Ebonyi State (1999-2007) is making a return to the Senate for the second time. He was first elected to the upper chamber of the federal legislature in 2015 on the platform of the PDP. Egwu defeated won his second term bid with 80,711 votes against 38,375 votes polled by his closest challenger, Matthias Adum of the APC, to return to the red chamber to represent Ebonyi North Senatorial District.



A former university lecturer, served as commissioner for Education in Ebonyi State before he became governor in 1999. In 2008, then President Umaru Yar’Adua appointed him Minister of Education, the position he held till April 2010. Currently, he is the chairman, Senate Committee on Industry.



Rochas Okorocha



For the Imo State governor, who would be serving out the constitutionally allowed two terms for governors on May 29, it was a tortuous journey to the Senate given his running battle with some members of his party at the state and national level. Okorocha had insisted on his sonin- law and former Chief of Staff, Uche Nwosu, as the governorship candidate of the APC in Imo State, but was resisted by those who felt that he should not lord it over the party after picking its senatorial ticket to represent Imo West Senatorial District in the National Assembly.



Nwosu was knocked out by Senator Hope Uzodinma, but the governor’s camp did not give up.



Its members quickly mobilized and joined the Action Alliance (AA), the platform Nwosu would be contesting the governorship poll.

However, the travails did not deter Okorocha, who dumped the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) through which he rose to power in 2011, for the APC in 2014 on the premise that the party will not only enthrone good governance at all levels in the country, but is a veritable platform for a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction.



The Imo State governor, Okorocha garnered 97,762 votes to beat his closest rival, Jones Onyereri, of the PDP, who got 68,117 votes as well as Senator Osita Izunaso of APGA, who polled 30,923 votes to emerge as Senator-elect for Imo West Senatorial District.

Credit: https://www.newtelegraphng.com/2019/02/17-govs-ex-govs-head-for-senate/

Nigeria is a very big scam, how do you explain an ex gov earning salary as an ex gov and also earning salary as a sitting senator.

Fela saw it all