Senate seat as governors’ parting gift

At the last count, no fewer than ten governors that are serving their second terms in office were warming up for the next senatorial election. What exactly is their mission? NDUBUISI ORJI writes

As politicians warm up for 2015 general elections, no fewer than ten second term governors are known to be nursing senatorial ambitions. While a few of them have stated point blank that they want to contest the senatorial election scheduled for February 14, 2015, others are giving the impression that they are being prodded by their people to go to the red chamber of the National Assembly.

The governors who overtly or covertly have indicated interest in the National Assembly next year include: Governors Godswill Akpabio, Theodore Orji, Martins Elechi, Sullivan Chime, Emmanuel Udu­aghan and Gabriel Suswan of Akwa Ibom, Abia, Ebonyi, Enugu, Delta and Benue states respectively. Others speculated to be interested in the Senate seat are Isa Yuguda, Bauchi; Ibrahim Shema, Kastina and Rotimi Ameachi, Rivers.

So far, only Akpabio and Suswan have given indications that they will be contest­ing the senatorial election.  As far back as December 2012, the Akwa Ibom governor had said that his people hd asked him to con­test to represent them in the Senate in 2015 and that he has accepted.

He was quoted to have said: “By the grace of God, I will see myself as a Senator in 2015. My people have approached me and told me not to retire politically. They said I should go and become a Senator and I have accepted their request.”The Benue State governor confirmed his ambition in a recent interview in which he attributed the case against him over alleged certificate forgery as a ploy to scuttle his 2015 politics project.

Apart from the duo, it has been a case of one group or the other in the states of the affected governors urging them to contest for a seat in the red chamber of the National Assembly.

But in Nigeria, when a politician wants to occupy a particular elective office, he gets some group of persons to sing his praise and request him to contest for that office. Thereafter, the concerned politician indi­cates interest in that position, citing pressure from his people as his reason for wanting to contest for the office. Analysts believe that is exactly what is playing out with some of the governors, who have their eyes on the Senate in 2015.A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain in Ebonyi State, Chief Henry Ude told Daily Sun in an interview that  Governor Elechi has never told anybody that he wants to contest the senatorial election. However, he said should the governor decide to take a shot at the senatorial seat, he is sure of victory.

“He never told anyone that he is interested in running for the Senate. But if he indicates interest to run, who won’t vote for him after all his achievements as governor except that person has a pact with the devil,” Ude noted.But one question that agitates the mind is-what exactly is the mission of these gover­nors in the twilight of the tenure to the upper chamber of the nation’s legislature? While the governors, many of whom claim that their people are prodding them to contest the elec­tion, say they want to continue to serve their people in the Senate, critical observers think otherwise. A school of thought believes that the governors are propelled by a selfish desire to continue to be part of government.  This school of thought argues that most of the gov­ernors, having been in office for eight years and dictating the pace of the politics in their respective states, would not want a situation where by they will suddenly become onlook­ers in the politics of their state, hence the desire to proceed to the National Assembly, so as to remain relevant politically.

Another school of thought does not see anything wrong with former governors contesting elections into the Senate. This school of thought argues that with their experience, former governors can contribute meaningfully to the legislature.

However, one of the charges against the governors is that most of them who ended up in the Senate are not adding value to the system.Since the inception of the Fourth Republic, it has become a tradition for most second term governors to contest for a senatorial seat. While a few of them have acquitted themselves very well, the majority of them are seemingly resting in the Red Chamber.

Presently, there are 11 former governors serving in the present Senate.  They include: George Akume (Benue North-west); Bukola Saraki (Kwara Central); Mohammed Shaaba Lafiagi (Kwara North); Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa Central) and Joshua Dariye (Plateau Central). Others are Bukar Abba Ibrahim (Yobe East); Ahmed Markarfi (Kaduna North); Chris Ngige (Anambra Central); Ahmed Sani (Zamfara West) and Danjuma Goje (Gombe Central) and Kabiru Gaya, Kano;Apart from these former  governors in the  present Senate, other of their colleagues who had served in the Senate after their second  tenure are Chimaroke Nnamani of Enugu State, Adamu Aliero of Kebbi State and  Taminu Turaki of Jigawa,

Former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Ahmadu Ali  thinks governors going to the Senate are going there to seek refuge.

He told  a national newspaper  recently that the governors’ ambition would  deprive experienced senators of the opportunities of continuing in the National Assembly.

“The Senate is becoming a haven for gov­ernors looking for where to hide their head, to escape EFCC and that is actually what they are doing. They are not contributing anything better than the ordinary people who came there,” Ali reportedly stated.

Read more http://primechronicle.com/?p=10237At the last count, no fewer than ten governors that are serving their second terms in office were warming up for the next senatorial election. What exactly is their mission? NDUBUISI ORJI writes

As politicians warm up for 2015 general elections, no fewer than ten second term governors are known to be nursing senatorial ambitions. While a few of them have stated point blank that they want to contest the senatorial election scheduled for February 14, 2015, others are giving the impression that they are being prodded by their people to go to the red chamber of the National Assembly.

The governors who overtly or covertly have indicated interest in the National Assembly next year include: Governors Godswill Akpabio, Theodore Orji, Martins Elechi, Sullivan Chime, Emmanuel Udu­aghan and Gabriel Suswan of Akwa Ibom, Abia, Ebonyi, Enugu, Delta and Benue states respectively. Others speculated to be interested in the Senate seat are Isa Yuguda, Bauchi; Ibrahim Shema, Kastina and Rotimi Ameachi, Rivers.

So far, only Akpabio and Suswan have given indications that they will be contest­ing the senatorial election.  As far back as December 2012, the Akwa Ibom governor had said that his people hd asked him to con­test to represent them in the Senate in 2015 and that he has accepted.

He was quoted to have said: “By the grace of God, I will see myself as a Senator in 2015. My people have approached me and told me not to retire politically. They said I should go and become a Senator and I have accepted their request.”The Benue State governor confirmed his ambition in a recent interview in which he attributed the case against him over alleged certificate forgery as a ploy to scuttle his 2015 politics project.

Apart from the duo, it has been a case of one group or the other in the states of the affected governors urging them to contest for a seat in the red chamber of the National Assembly.

But in Nigeria, when a politician wants to occupy a particular elective office, he gets some group of persons to sing his praise and request him to contest for that office. Thereafter, the concerned politician indi­cates interest in that position, citing pressure from his people as his reason for wanting to contest for the office. Analysts believe that is exactly what is playing out with some of the governors, who have their eyes on the Senate in 2015.A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain in Ebonyi State, Chief Henry Ude told Daily Sun in an interview that  Governor Elechi has never told anybody that he wants to contest the senatorial election. However, he said should the governor decide to take a shot at the senatorial seat, he is sure of victory.

“He never told anyone that he is interested in running for the Senate. But if he indicates interest to run, who won’t vote for him after all his achievements as governor except that person has a pact with the devil,” Ude noted.But one question that agitates the mind is-what exactly is the mission of these gover­nors in the twilight of the tenure to the upper chamber of the nation’s legislature? While the governors, many of whom claim that their people are prodding them to contest the elec­tion, say they want to continue to serve their people in the Senate, critical observers think otherwise. A school of thought believes that the governors are propelled by a selfish desire to continue to be part of government.  This school of thought argues that most of the gov­ernors, having been in office for eight years and dictating the pace of the politics in their respective states, would not want a situation where by they will suddenly become onlook­ers in the politics of their state, hence the desire to proceed to the National Assembly, so as to remain relevant politically.

Another school of thought does not see anything wrong with former governors contesting elections into the Senate. This school of thought argues that with their experience, former governors can contribute meaningfully to the legislature.

However, one of the charges against the governors is that most of them who ended up in the Senate are not adding value to the system.Since the inception of the Fourth Republic, it has become a tradition for most second term governors to contest for a senatorial seat. While a few of them have acquitted themselves very well, the majority of them are seemingly resting in the Red Chamber.

Presently, there are 11 former governors serving in the present Senate.  They include: George Akume (Benue North-west); Bukola Saraki (Kwara Central); Mohammed Shaaba Lafiagi (Kwara North); Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa Central) and Joshua Dariye (Plateau Central). Others are Bukar Abba Ibrahim (Yobe East); Ahmed Markarfi (Kaduna North); Chris Ngige (Anambra Central); Ahmed Sani (Zamfara West) and Danjuma Goje (Gombe Central) and Kabiru Gaya, Kano;Apart from these former  governors in the  present Senate, other of their colleagues who had served in the Senate after their second  tenure are Chimaroke Nnamani of Enugu State, Adamu Aliero of Kebbi State and  Taminu Turaki of Jigawa,

Former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Ahmadu Ali  thinks governors going to the Senate are going there to seek refuge.

He told  a national newspaper  recently that the governors’ ambition would  deprive experienced senators of the opportunities of continuing in the National Assembly.

“The Senate is becoming a haven for gov­ernors looking for where to hide their head, to escape EFCC and that is actually what they are doing. They are not contributing anything better than the ordinary people who came there,” Ali reportedly stated.