Good day Fam. Been having this argument of late with some colleagues at work and will like us to debate on the subject matter. Some say a Vice President is more powerful as the number 2 citizen of the country. Others say a state Governor controls a lot hence, more powerful.

Some Facts:
1. We have seen certain situations where elected state governors prefer a vice president position E.g Atiku, Sambo Namadi.
2. Most politicians will opt to be state governors unless they have already served as state governors and look for a more national figure head position to occupy.
3. Of late we have seen where a former state governor and minister comfortable floored a sitting Vice President in a primary election.

My Take:
1. I feel the position of a vice president is more prestigious but, not as powerful as a state governor.
2. In Nigeria for example, Vice President is a synonym for Not the President and can only be as powerful as His or her boss allows.
3. A state governor controls a lot of resources and more like a boss in his or her domain while, VP is more like a spare part. lol

So what's your opinion?

Vice President is powerful. He can take action at the instance of the president .

If Vice president is not powerful, he wouldn't have sacked former D.G of dss. Copy that? Over!

AJOBI77:
Vice President is powerful. He can take action at the instance of the president .

If Vice president is not powerful, he wouldn't have sacked former D.G of dss. Copy that? Over!

Yes I agree. i.e if He is acting president which His boss may never give him again lol.

Comparing naira and dollar is the best illustration,,state and federal might,influence,resources isn't even a debate brethrens.

Osibanjo's VP position is just like a commissioner in Zamfara.

A VP that Amaechi defeated in Primary election. A VP that can't win delegates from his State.

Wike as a Governor gave Atiku a tough race at the PDP primaries. Atiku's saving grace was Tambuwal.

Ask yourself why GEJ was promoted from VP to President after Yar'adua death and Namadi Sambo will leave his Governor's Office for VP...

Please, answer the question below.

Between the deputy governor of your state and your local government chairman, who is more powerful?

A governor is more powerful than a vice president. But a vice president is more influential and could easily become powerful if the president dies, is impeached, or loses his seat in some other way. That's why governors would happily resign to become vice president but a vice president will never resign to become a governor.

I should clarify a few things about the vice president. In most countries, vice presidents don't have any constitutional role and perform tasks given to them by the president. So the VP is more or less, as powerful as a president wants him to be.

Think of the VP as the "spare wheel" that may/may not be needed. You don't care about a spare wheel until you find yourself with a flat tire in the middle of nowhere. A governor on the other hand is a full wheel, just like the president. But unlike the president who is the full wheel of a trailer, the governor is the full wheel of a family car.

I should add that the unofficial order-of-power of the executive arm of the government looks like this:

President > Governor > Vice president > Minister > Deputy governor & Commissioners > Local government chairman

Local government chairmen are the least powerful because they are not independent and are under the governors irrespective of whether they are elected or selected.

Commissioners are usually more powerful (but less influential) than deputy governors but some deputy governors are more powerful than commissioners. This is because of the way deputy governors are selected. In many cases, they are the result of rival sides of a party reaching a "forced" agreement. So one side brings a powerful politician to become governor while the other presents a powerful politician as the deputy. That's why we usually hear of governors and their deputies fighting (or the deputy decamping to another party) while it's rarer in the case of a president and his vice.

Vice President is more powerful than a governor in a presidential system of government like Nigeria. Osibanjo is loyal, docile and submissive, remember that Atiku Abubakar was former Vice President and he is more powerful than any other formal governor, Tinubu is a special case even at that Atiku is more powerful than Tinubu despite that Atiku did not build the kind of political network Tinubu built, being a Vice President open you up to more international connection, keeps you closer to other instruments of power like the police, the military, the central bank, ministries. Osibanjo is not just ambitious and most recent Vice President are not ambitious