It is no news that 76 senators would not return to the Senate when the 8th National Assembly resumes because they failed in their return bid. However, some of them are not returning on ground of their successful election as governors of their states, LINUS OOTA, in Abuja, reports
The Senate is the upper house of the National Assembly of Nigeria, it consists of 109 senators, the 36 states are each divided in 3 senatorial districts each electing one senator; the federal capital territory elects only one senator.
However, in the build up to the 2014 party primaries, not less than 13 sitting senators declared their intentions to be governors of their respective states, some failed to pick their party’s nomination tickets while others who were nominated lost at the general elections.
The April 11th 2015 governorship election results as declared by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) shows that four outgoing senators were declared winners of the governorship elections in their various states; they would be graduating from the sole responsibility of making laws to double responsibilities of implementing bills from the state legislatures and formulating policies for the good governance of the people of their respective states.
Some of these senators discussed below have already won elections, one unique thing about these governors elect is that apart from Senator Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi state, both of them came into the senate in 2011 and are both transmitting to government house on May 29, 2015 when they will be sworn in as governors.
Senator Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta North)
Senator Okowa came to the senate in 2011 to represents Delta North senatorial districts after serving as secretary to the state government and Local government chairman in Delta state. He is the senate committee chairman on health. He hails from the mainly populated Anioma people in the state who have been agitating for power shift because they have not filled the slot before now.
Having won the governorship ticket of his party, the PDP during the primaries, Okowa contested the April 11th governorship election and won to become governor-elect of Delta state.
Senator Bindo Umaru Jibrilla (Adamawa North)
He is a business tycoon who has established three companies in Mubi employing about four hundred youths in Adamawa state and is known for his philanthropic activities and for creating jobs.
He was invited in 2011 by the Adamawa youths to challenge Senator Muhammed Mana who was said to have neglected his senatorial districts and ensure that Mana was not returned to the senate in 2011. In the January 2011 PDP primaries for the Adamawa North, Jibrilla with the strong backing of his people defeated the then incumbent senator Mana polling 626 votes against 474 votes. In 9th April 2011 election, Jibrilla polled 75,112 votes while the runners up and ex-governor of the state Bonni Haruna of the then ACN polled 70,890.
Senator Jibrilla is the Deputy Chairman, Senate committee on Defense and Army who later defected to the APC after two years of his stay in the Senate on the PDP ticket. In December 2014 during the party’s primaries, he emerged the standard bearer of the APC for the 2015 governorship election having polled 2,718 votes to beat five other governorship aspirants. On April 11th 2015, Senator Jibrilla emerged the winner of the 2015 governorship elections held in Adamawa state.
The returning officer of the election Professor Geoffrey Okogbaa declared Senator Bindow winner having scored the highest votes of 362,329 defeating the governorship candidate of SDP Engr Marcus Gundiri who polled 181,806 votes to become the runners up in the gubernatorial race.
The governor-elect for Adamawa, Senator Bindow Jibrilla has since declared that he would be governor for all irrespective of religion, political or tribal affiliation and extended his hands of fellowship to members of other political parties in the state in order to move the state forward, he will be sworn in on May 29, 2015.
Senator Benedict Ayade (Cross River North)
A professor of Microbiology is the governor-elect of the PDP for Cross River state. He won election into the upper chamber of the national assembly in 2011 to represent cross river north senatorial districts and is the vice Chairman senate committee on Environment and Ecology; he contested and won the PDP governorship primaries having polled 752 votes to beat his closest river Jeddi Agba who had 11 votes.
Senator Ben Ayade was declared winner of the April 11th governorship election, the returning officer Professor Comfort Ekpo who declared Ayade winner said he polled 342,016 votes to defeat his APC counterpart Odey Ochicha who came second with 53,983 votes. Senator Ben Ayade will be sworn in on May 29, 2015.
Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi Central)
He was elected senator for the Kebbi Central Constituency of Kebbi state in a bye election after Senator Adamu Aliero was appointed Minister of the FCT in December 2008, he ran successfully for re-election in the April 2011 national elections in the PDP platform.
Senator Atiku Bagudu who emerge the standard bearer of the All Progressive Congress APC less than a week after joining the party clinched the party’s ticket with a wide margin of 2,625 delegates who voted for him ahead of four other candidates.
Senator Atiku Bagudu was declared the winner of the April 11th governorship election in Kebbi state by the returning officer for the governorship election in the state Prof Lawal Mohammed, he said that APC won 19 local governments of the 21 local governments in the state leaving only two for the PDP candidate Gen Sarkin Yaki Bello
The governor-elect who will be sworn in May 29th 2015 obtained a Bsc and Msc in Economics and was a director of primary education in kebbi state before going into politics.