SENATORS WHO MAY NOT RETURN IN 2015; With just a few days to the nomination of candidates of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the National Assembly election in 2015, it has become apparent that many senators will not make it back to the Red Chamber. Reason: Governors of the states from where the affected senators hail are either heading for the Senate to replace them or have anointed others to take over. Moreover, not only did most of the senators with governorship ambitions not obtain nomination forms for the Senate, their governorship desires were truncated by the governors who already had preferred successors. Senators likely to be affected by this two-pronged challenge, according to findings, are Aloysius Akpan Etok, chairman, Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service (Akwa Ibom North-West); Magery Chuba Okadigbo (Anambra North); Basheer Garba Mohammed (Kano Central); Barnabas Gemade, chairman, Senate Committee on National Planning (Benue North-East); Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa, chairman, Senate Committee on Health (Delta North); Chris Nwankwo (Ebonyi North); James Ebiowou Manager, chairman, Senate Committee on Niger Delta (Delta South), and Paulinus Igwe Nwagu, chairman, Senate Committee on Police Affairs (Ebonyi North). Other than the Senate president, only a handful can boast of coming back to the red chambers after May next year. The situation is the same in most of the states. While in some cases, it is the governor that is seeking to displace them, such as Benue State governor Gabriel Suswam, that of Abia Theodore Orji, and Sullivan Chime of Enugu, among others, there are other cases where the governors simply think it is time to give other persons a chance to occupy the seat as is in the case of Bayelsa State. Senate-bound governors in 2015 The deputy Senate president, Ike Ekweremadu, has a battle ahead of him if he wishes to retain his seat. His governor, Sullivan Chime, has his eyes on the seat and as the head of the PDP in the state, he is not likely to allow Ekweremadu to scale through the primaries. In the case of Senate leader Victor Ndoma-Egba, Cross River governor Liyel Imoke does not seek to take his seat, but wants House chairman on Appropriation Hon John Enoh to take over from him in 2015. In Akwa Ibom, Governor Godswill Akpabio and Senator Aloysius Etok are at each other’s throats. The governor has made no pretences that he is gunning for Etok’s job in the coming elections. In Delta State, Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan has also declared his intention to become a senator in 2014, thus jeopardising the ambition of Senator James Manager to return to the upper chamber. In Niger, Governor Mua’zu Babangida Aliyu has declared his intention to run for the Niger-East senatorial zone next year. He will be contesting against Shem Zagbayi who just got elected in August to replace the deceased Senator Dahiru Awaisu Kuta. Bauchi State governor Isa Yuguda is also reported to be nursing a senatorial ambition. He will be seeking to supplant Senator Adamu Gumba from the Bauchi South senatorial seat if his plan sails through. Senator Gyang Pwajok’s return to the Senate is unlikely as Governor Jonah Jang has targeted his seat at the Senate. But Pwajok looks to benefit from this happenstance as Governor Jang has endorsed him as a possible successor. For the duo, it may just be a swap of positions. In Abia, Governor Theodore Orji is seeking to replace Senator Nkechi Nwogu. Nwogu is also aiming higher as she is in the race to succeed Orji even though it has been rumoured that the governor has endorsed another aspirant as successor. In Sokoto State, Governor Aliyu Wamakko of the APC is poised to replace Senator Muhammad Maccido (PDP) to represent the Sokoto Central Senatorial District. Other factors that may stop senators from returning Indications from happenings in states show that at least 60-75 of the 109 senators will have to find some other jobs outside the National Assembly in 2015. This number includes those not returning because their governors have worked against them, those seeking governorship tickets of their parties and those ruled out by the power permutations such as zoning and other interests. Senate deputy leader Abdul Ningi as well as deputy minority leader, Ganiyu Solomon, have opted out of the senatorial race for the governorship seats of Bauchi and Lagos States respectively. Others who will not return to the Senate because of their governorship ambitions are: Abubakar Yar’Adua (Katsina), Enyinnaya Abaribe (Abia), Gyang Pwajok (Plateau), Helen Esuene (Akwa Ibom), Nkechi Nwogu (Abia), Ayoade Adeseun (Oyo), Ayogu Eze (Enugu), Umar Tambuwal (Sokoto), Magnus Abe (Rivers), Chris Anyanwu (Imo), Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta), Simon Ajibola (Kwara), Paulinus Nwagu (Ebonyi) and Victor Lar (Plateau). Others are Solomon Ewuga (Nasarawa), Isa Galaudi (Kebbi), Muhammad Magoro (Kebbi), Aisha Alhassan (Taraba), Ibrahim Musa (Niger), Adamu Gumba (Bauchi) and Babayo Garba (Bauchi). Ironically, the incumbent governors are against virtually all the senators succeeding them, except in the case of Pwajok where the Plateau State governor Jonah Jang is disposed to his former Chief of Staff (Pwajok) taking over from him despite opposition from stakeholders in the state. However, Senator Abe’s ambition has been truncated on the platform of the APC as Hon Dakuku Peterside has been nominated as the flag-bearer of the party for Rivers State governorship. At present, the Senate houses 10 former governors: George Akume (Benue Zone B), Chris Ngige (Anambra Central), Mohammed Danjuma Goje (Gombe Central), Ahmed Makarfi (Kaduna North), Abubakar Saraki (Kwara Central), Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa West), Joshua Dariye (Plateau Central), Bukar Abba Ibrahim (Yobe East), and Mohammed Shaaba Lafiagi (Kwara North).
Posted on: Mon, 01 Dec 2014 05:55:25 +0000
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