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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Gaya
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
Are they making the right decisions?
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