- Senate, retirement from politics on the cards
- for second terms governors amidst succession battles
For second term governors, who would be leaving office on May 29, 2027, the fear of loss in political stature after attainment of a great height has prompted them to commence moves on what next after office in order to remain relevant in the polity, FELIX NWANERI reports
Less than a year to the 2027 general election, there are political maneuverings of different shades across the country as key political actors as well as some gladiators’ perfect strategies to remain relevant in the political space.
The elections are billed to commence on January 16 with the presidential and National Assembly polls, so it is time for consultations, building of political bridges, consolidation of strongholds, and expansion of frontiers as the political parties gear for next month’s primary elections that will see emergence candidates for the various elective positions. However, it is different ball game for political office holders on the last lap of their second term in office for positions that have constitutional tenure, particularly governors.
These governors are Ahmadu Fintiri (Adamawa), Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), Babagana Zulum (Borno), Inuwa Yahaya (Gombe), Mai Mala Buni (Yobe), Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq (Kwara) and Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa). Many have wondered before now about their next political moves, but developments ahead of the elections point to where most of them may be headed to. Having dominated the political landscape in their respective states for close to seven years, a handful of the second term governors have their eyes on the Senate, which has become a nest for former governors. Presently, 14 former governors are in the Senate.
They are Adamu Aliero (Kebbi), Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto), Aliyu Wammako (Sokoto), Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara), Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa) and Adams Oshiomhole (Edo). Others are Sani Bello (Niger), Simon Lalong (Plateau), Ibrahim Dankwambo (Gombe), Danjuma Goje (Gombe), Ibrahim Gaidam (Yobe), Orji Uzor Kalu (Abia),and Gbenga Daniel (Ogun). No doubt, each of the outgoing governors will prefer to remain politically relevant by clinging to power in one way or the other, but politics, being the game of the possible, analysts are not ruling out a decline in political fortune for some of them by the time they leave office.
This belief is predicated on the fact that there is usually a precipitous loss in stature after attainment of a great height in politics either by one’s own doing or as a result of circumstance. The story of some governors, who left office in 2023 after serving out the constitutional allowed two terms, speaks volume to this conviction.
Some of these former governors dominated the political landscape in their respective states, while they held sway and dictated who got what, when and how but just three years after leaving office, only a handful of them still relevant in the polity. Besides their next political moves, the outgoing governors are also burdened by succession battles in their respective states.
Ordinarily, that would not have been their concern given that democracy grants the people the liberty to choose their leaders through periodic elections. However, as a result of undue advantage, which power confers on its wielders, especially in developing countries like Nigeria, most leaders do not toy with the issue of their succession.
It is against most of the outgoing governors are doing everything possible to ensure that they hand-pick or influence their respective successors. As expected, this move is being resisted by aspirants and party loyalists in some states despite the fact that some of the parties, particularly the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) seems to have adopted the consensus mode of primary for nomination of its candidate for the elections.
Fintiri at a crossroads
Before dumping the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) through which he was elected as governor of Adamawa State in the 2019 and 2023 elections for the APC, Ahmadu Fintiri was said to be nursing a vice presidential bid. Fintiri’s plot then was to pair Governor Seyi Makinde, who had his eyes on the PDP presidential ticket. But with his defection to the APC and declaration of support for President Bola Tinubu’s second term bid, the Adamawa State governor’s vice presidential dream is over.
While Fintiri’s defection to the APC was widely seen as a move to counter whatever plans the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu and a major financier of the ruling party in Adamawa State, had up his sleeves ahead of the 2027 elections, there is no doubt that the governor walked into a camp hitherto occupied by political rivals.
It is equally incontestable that initial calculations and permutations have changed as the stage is set for a fierce political battle between Fintiri and Ribadu as there are feelers that some forces within the APC want to stop from producing his successor, using their closeness to President Tinubu. A source within the Adamawa APC disclosed that Ribadu is working to impose Tijani Galadima, seen by many as dark horse on the party as its standard bearer in the governorship election.
The move is in contrast with Fintiri’s position that his successor must be a grassroots politician. Meanwhile, Fintiri’s refusal to make his next position known and his subsequent declaration on his successor has sparked interest among several members of his cabinet, many of whom are now positioning themselves as potential successors. But as events unfold, a senatorial bid cannot be ruled out for the governor as some of his loyalists have been canvassing for that as a fall back plan in case his succession plan fails to materialize.
Sule reneges on promise, to vie for Senate
Nasarawa State is currently facing a defining moment, politically as Governor Abdullahi Sule is making moves to achieve a seamless transition by choosing his preferred successor ahead of the APC primaries. However, the governor’s selection of the senator representing Nasarawa West Senatorial District, Ahmed Wadada, has sparked controversy in the state. Wadada, who currently chairs the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, defected from the Social Democratic Party (SDP) to the APC in August 2025.
Sule had said his choice of Wadada followed consultations with stakeholders within and outside the state. He later accompanied him to the State House in Abuja for a meeting with President Bola Tinubu.
While members of the state House of Assembly have backed the governor’s endorsement of Senator Wadada and pledged to work for his success at the primaries and the general election, a former governor of the state, Tanko Al-makura, faulted Sule for not consulting him before choosing his preferred successor. Al-Makura, who in a media interview, described the governor’s action as an aberration and “a little too hasty.”
He argued that since the APC has yet to release guidelines for the selection of candidates, presenting Wadada to President Tinubu amounts to a violation of due process.
“It is a little too hasty that at this point in time, when the party has not actually brought out its guidelines for the exercise, and in spite of the fact that quite a number of people are angling for this position, and given the fact there was no proper consultation among critical stakeholders and unanimous understanding with regard to the position of the state or the party, I feel for the governor to take anybody, not even Wadada, to Mr. President at this point in time, is a little too hasty. It is a violation of due process that this exercise is supposed to ensure.”
The former governor maintained that while Sule is entitled to have a preferred successor, the process must follow laid-down procedures. Similarly, a former Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, who has his eyes on the APC governorship ticket, also kicked against Sule’s choice of Wadada. Adamu, who ruled out any consensus agreement with the APC in the state, is insisting on a direct primary. “The Electoral Act now allows for consensus and direct primaries.
With direct primaries, candidates must engage directly with the electorate. As for consensus, it cannot work because if one aspirant disagrees, the process automatically reverts to direct primaries, he said. The governor, who appears undeterred in his bid to have his way on who succeeds him, is also gunning for a senatorial seat.
He has made public his intention to run for the Nasarawa North senatorial seat. Sule had earlier vowed not to contest any elective position after his tenure but later reneged, claiming that he was pressurised to do so. His senatorial ambition is however under threat as some chieftains of the APC in Nasarawa North, who have indicated interest to contest for the seat, are insisting on going ahead with their plans.
AbdulRazaq playing the mind game
Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State has kept everyone guessing as to what his future political ambition would be after leaving office on May 29, 2027.
However, there are speculations in some quarters that he is likely to contest for the Senate seat in Kwara Central Senatorial District and calls by some APC stalwarts in the district for the governor to declare for the position are pointers to the belief that the governor may truly be eyeing the senatorial seat. Another pointer to the belief that governor is nursing a senatorial ambition is the endorsement of the governor for the Kwara Central senatorial seat in the 2027 general election by APC Ward Chairmen Forum in the state.
The chairman of the forum, Alhaji Abdullahi Gobir, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues at a recent press conference in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, said the resolve to encourage the governor to contest for the senatorial seat was borne out of a collective desire to see continuity of purposeful leadership, experience and people-oriented governance. He added that the call on the governor reflects the voice of the grassroots, the pulse of the people and confidence reposed in him. It is also the mind game over the governor’s succession plan.
He had publicly declared during the recent state congress of the APC that he is not interested in building any political dynasty as his focus on leaving legacies of a better developed state has been achieved.
However, despite his declaration that he has no anointed candidate, political pundits in the state, are of the view that his to zoning of the governorship position to Kwara North Senatorial District, a zone acclaimed to be marginalized for a long time, is an indication that he may have someone in mind.
Makinde focuses on succession plan
Indications are that Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State is not yet sure of his next move after May 29, 2027, when he would have served out two terms.
Before his political brush with the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesome Wike, a fiasco that has led to the fragmentation of the PDP, Makinde was rumoured to be angling to vie for the presidency. However, the leadership struggles within the PDP and defection of almost all the governors of the party to the APC, has left him in limbo. He no longer has any formidable political party on which he can contest the presidency.
The precariousness of the status of the PDP does not also favour a senatorial ambition. Aside from his Bauchi State counterpart, Bala Mohammed (who is almost ready for defection), Makinde is the only surviving governor of the PDP, and with the defection of many of the leaders and stakeholders of the party to other parties in Oyo State, it is apparent from his recent moves that he is scouting for a party on which his followers will contest the 2027 elections. As it stands, there are many of Makinde’s loyalists, who are willing to succeed him.
Among them are former Commissioner for Finance, Bimbo Adekanmbi and the incumbent House of Representatives member for the Ibadan North West/South West Federal constituency, Hon. Stanley Adedeji Odidiomo. Others are the chairman of the State Universal Basic Education (SUBEB), Dr. Nureni Adeniran; Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly Hon. Debo Ogundoyin; the 2023 gubernatorial candidate of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), Amb. Olufemi Ajadi and a former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Akinade Fijabi, among others.
Though the Oyo State governor has said that he has no anointed candidate among aspirants, stressing that “Oyo State people will determine who will succeed me,” the rumour mill is filled with the speculation that Makinde prefers Adekanmbi, whom he has since last year saddled with the technical upgrade of the Ladoke Akintola international Airport, Ibadan.
Double win for Abiodun
For Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun, it seems a double win for now given the way he was able to rally APC stakeholders in the state to endorse the senator representing Ogun West at the National Assembly, Solomon Adeola as the party’s consensus governorship candidate as well as his endorsement for the APC Ogun East senatorial ticket.
The decision to field the lawmaker as the party’s governorship candidate was announced at a state strategic caucus meeting presided over by the state chairman of the party, Yemi Sanusi. The meeting was attended by Governor Abiodun and former Governors Olusegun Osoba, Ibikunle Amosun and Gbenga Daniel.
Others present included Senator Iyabo Obasanjo; Gboyega Isiaka, who represents Imeko/Afon Federal Constituency (both governorship aspirants) and other serving and former members of the state House of Assembly and National Assembly. Governor Abiodun, who announced Adeola as the party’s consensus governorship candidate, urged other aspirants to rally round him, stressing the need for party unity over personal interests.
Endorsing the governor’s senatorial aspiration, about 102 councillors drawn from the nine local government areas of Ogun East Senatorial District, hinged their decision on what they described as Abiodun’s “unmatched developmental strides” and “qualitative leadership” across the state.
According to the councillors, the governor has transformed Ogun State in critical sectors including infrastructure, healthcare, economy and security, among others, noting that his experience in governance places him in good stead to represent Ogun East at the National Assembly. “We have watched the transformative leadership of His Excellency over the last seven years.
His ‘Building Our Future Together’ agenda has touched every corner of Ogun East. We believe that a leader of his calibre should not retire from public service but should continue to serve at the federal level to bring more dividends of democracy to our people,” they said. Despite endorsement of Governor Abiodun for the Senate, he has the incumbent senator representing Ogun East, Gbenga Daniel, to contend with.
The former governor of the state was reportedly barred from the APC caucus meeting in Ijebu Ode, where the decision was taken. But Daniel, who addressed his supporters outside the venue of the meeting, said any decisions made would be invalid. “We are here for our Ogun East APC caucus meeting, but surprisingly, we have been barred. We are told that we can’t enter, but let it be said that whatever they do here today is null and void,” he said.
Loyalists of the former the governor, who also rejected Governor Abiodun endorsement as the consensus candidate of the APC for the Ogun East senatorial election, said the reported “Ogun East APC caucus meeting,” where Abiodun was allegedly announced as the party’s consensus candidate, was convened by his supporters to impose a preferred outcome without adherence to party guidelines on consensus.
They alleged that the organisers had predetermined the outcome of the meeting and restricted participation to loyalists of the governor, adding that Daniel and his supporters were barred from the venue.
The group condemned what it described as undue pressure and disregard for internal party procedures, warning that such actions would not go unchallenged. Spokesperson of the group, General Olumuyiwa Okunowo (rtd.), said that although organisers had the right to convene meetings, they should have clearly stated their intentions rather than using the party’s platform for what he described as a predetermined agenda.
His words: “Some of our members who were eminently qualified to attend according to the notice of invitation were told pointedly to leave the venue, with the explanation that ‘this is a DA show’ and could be attended only by loyalists of the governor. “We do not deny them their right to hold their own show, and we believe this must account for why our leader, Gbenga Daniel, was denied access to a ‘DA Show’.
“No ill feeling, but they should have been bold enough to make the notifications clear about their true intention, rather than using the name of our great party to drag our leaders into ratifying a premeditated ‘show’.” Also speaking, a former chairman of Ijebu North East Local Government, Tayo Onayemi, said consensus must be based on voluntary agreement among all aspirants. “Consensus, as recognised by law, must be based on voluntary agreement by all aspirants. Has the governor formally declared? Has he obtained nomination forms? Without these steps, there is no consensus,” he said.
Also speaking, a former chairman of Ijebu North East Local Government, Tayo Onayemi, said consensus must be based on voluntary agreement among all aspirants. “Consensus, as recognised by law, must be based on voluntary agreement by all aspirants. Has the governor formally declared? Has he obtained nomination forms? Without these steps, there is no consensus,” he said.
Zulum unperturbed by political future
Unlike what is playing out in most states, there is no indication that Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State would be contesting for a senatorial seat in the 2027 elections. He has also not declared that he has a preferred successor as he is yet to anoint anyone ahead of the primary elections.
Recall that Zulum had while addressing stakeholders of his party – the APC – ahead of the recent state congress of the party, said his administration remains focused on improving security and delivering development to the people of Borno, rather than engaging in succession politics.
The governor, who maintained that the credibility of the process was critical to the unity and future strength of the party, dismissed speculations that he was influencing party leadership or electoral tickets. He stated clearly that he had not endorsed any candidate for party or elective positions. “I have no candidate for any position, and I do not know who will succeed me. I have left the choice of leaders to Almighty Allah and to the democratic will of APC members and the people of Borno State,” he said.
Mohammed floats for now
Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed, is not one envisaged to take a bow from politics by the time he leaves office in 2027 given his political trajectory, but circumstances, particularly the PDP crisis may force him to opt for sabbatical. The governor has before now served as a senator and a minister and was believed to have his eyes on the presidency or vice presidency but the leadership crisis the has reduced his party – the PDP – to a mere bystander ahead of the 2027 elections, has no doubt ruptured his plans.
Although he has turned to the beautiful bride greatly sought after by the ruling APC and opposition coalition – African Democratic Congress (ADC) – it is left to be seen how he will navigate the PDP impasse to remain politically relevant by the time he leaves office as he is also at a crossroads over his succession plan.
But Governor Mohammed, who is not unaware of what the future holds for him politically post-2027 if he makes the wrong move, recently described himself as a “freelance politician,” due to the leadership crisis and legal stalemate in the PDP. He stated this after a closed-door meeting with a former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, at Ramat House in Bauchi, where both leaders held discussions, seen as part of ongoing consultations ahead of the general election.
His words: “Today, I received the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate and a chieftain of the ADC, Mr. Peter Obi, at the Government House in Bauchi. Our discussions centered on critical national issues, including economic recovery and the welfare of our citizens,” he said. The governor noted that the meeting also provided an opportunity to review the country’s political climate and the need for institutional strengthening.
“We also took time to review the evolving political landscape and emphasized the urgent need to strengthen our democratic institutions,” he said. He revealed that both leaders agreed on the need for political stakeholders to prioritise national interest over partisan considerations. “We jointly urged all stakeholders to rise above partisanship and place the national interest at the forefront of all decisions.”
Yahaya still consulting
There are strong indications that the Governor Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State is under pressure to run for the Senate in the 2027 elections to represent Gombe North Senatorial District.
While those behind the move see it as a strategic step to challenge political opponents and ensure that the APC maintains its dominance in the state after Yahaya completes his second term as governor, he is said to be still consulting with party stakeholders.
Similarly, the governor is said to be still consulting on his likely successor to ensure party unity even although key gubernatorial aspirants in the state have been flexing muscles ahead of the primaries. Analysts have described the governor’s silence on both matters as a “holding position” intended to keep political rivals guessing and maintain discipline among potential contenders within the ruling party in the state.
He had on April 8, dissolved his cabinet, directing appointees with 2027 political ambitions to step down, a move seen as a step towards restructuring his team for the upcoming electoral cycle.
Senatorial ticket on the cards for Buni
For Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State, joining the ranks of former governors in the Senate may be the next move as youths in state under the banner of Concerned Citizens of Yobe East have launched a campaign urging him to contest the 2027 senatorial election.
The Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Student Matters, Comrade Habu Adamu, who is also the convener of the “Team Mai Mala Goes to Senate 2027” movement, said the call is inspired by the governor’s track record of performance.
According to him, Governor Buni has demonstrated competence, inclusiveness, and a clear vision for development. He added that the group wants him to bring the same energy and leadership to the Senate to represent Yobe East Senatorial District.
On his possible successor, Buni is yet to name a his choice but the state chapter of the APC has resolved to adopt consensus as its mode of selecting the candidate, who will fly its flag in the governorship election. He added that the group wants him to bring the same energy and leadership to the Senate to represent Yobe East Senatorial District.
He noted that the call for the governor to serve the people of Yobe East has become necessary, given his achievements, vast experience, and leadership skills, which are needed to further advance the district.
“We have gathered from the seven local government areas of Yobe East to appreciate the good work and leadership of Governor Mai Mala Buni, and to respectfully call on him to contest for the seat of Senator representing Yobe East in the 2027 general election. “His achievements and dedication to the development of Yobe State have inspired us, and we strongly believe that his experience and leadership are still needed to move our people forward.
“As a demonstration of our commitment, we are ready to obtain the nomination form for him and support him throughout the entire process. We are fully prepared to mobilise and stand by him, and we will continue to urge him until he answers this call to serve,” Adamu said. He added that the “Team Mai Mala Goes to Senate 2027” movement will serve as a platform to mobilise support and unite the people toward achieving its mission.
Sanwo-Olu may retire to private life
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who presently holds sway in President Bola Tinubu’s home state – Lagos – Is not really looking at another office post-2027. So, he is likely to retire to private life by the time he leaves office on May 29, 2023. He is also likely not to get involved in the emergence of his successor given the nature of Lagos politics.
No outgoing governor in the state from 2007 till date has played any role in the choice of his successor. Already, those interested in contesting the governorship of Lagos State on the platform of the APC in the forthcoming general election, including Sanwo-Olu’s deputy, Obafemi Hamzat, have started consulting with relevant stakeholders, who ultimately will decide on the party’s flag bearer.
